Win Cash Prizes & Get Professional Feedback @ Flash Fiction Magazine
Learn More
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

101 Words

101 Word Short Stories

  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Volunteer

Gone Missing

August 25, 2021 5 Comments

By Brian Maycock

When we were children there was a man who slept on the street. He wore rags and had an enormous beard.

We used to play dare, creeping up to him, intending to poke him, wake him up, then run away.

Once, we were tiptoeing close, two baby rats stuck their heads right out of his beard. All pink and blind. We yelled, scarpered.

The man was not there the next day. There was a rat just standing on the street. I wondered if, like us, it was thinking, where had the man gone, with his enormous beard, and her nesting young.

Share this:

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram
  • Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • Share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Share on Nextdoor (Opens in new window) Nextdoor
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest

The Power of Imagery with Nina Schuyler

September 12 & 13 on Zoom
Enrollment closes Thursday, September 3 at 7:00 PM Pacific

If your descriptions are vivid but your stories still feel thin, this workshop is for you.

Join award-winning author Nina Schuyler to learn the difference between description, which tells a reader what things look like, and imagery, which carries plot, character, and meaning at the same time.

In just two days, you'll learn to choose images that hold emotion without naming it, pair them so each one deepens the other, and build patterns that gather meaning as the story moves.

Learn More and Enroll

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. HelenZ says

    August 25, 2021 at 9:36 am

    Wow – what a story told so well.

    Reply
  2. NormaN Shaft says

    August 25, 2021 at 10:33 am

    Spooky!

    Reply
  3. Kelly Louisa Balliu says

    August 25, 2021 at 7:02 pm

    There is something shivery about that last line..
    Very good!

    Reply
  4. nancy liddle says

    August 25, 2021 at 8:26 pm

    beautiful story – thank you

    Reply
  5. Frankie says

    August 28, 2021 at 6:10 pm

    Love this thought provoking tale. ..

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search Stories

The end.