101 Words

“I wanted to be an electrician,” the old man mused to the young boy who had begged to speak.

“You were so much more! You invented the technology that changed everything! It revolutionized…” Matt was rambling. His excitement overflowed into every syllable. His hands tremored and eyes glowed.

“I know what I did, boy.” Tom thought about the life he would have had. The simple nine to five, the family. The grandchild who’d sit opposite him, enamored. He looked up and took a deep, long sigh. “Interview’s over.”

“B-bu…” Matt sputtered as Tom left the room. Both choked back tears.

Emma was in the hallway, screaming. My sister was five years old and easily frightened. I wandered through the nearest door, sighing.

“What is it, Emma?” I asked, finding her at the front door. “Stop screaming; it’s okay.”

“Ghost!” Emma yelled, hysterical. She pointed to the warped panel of glass in the door-frame; a pale, hazy stranger hovered just behind it.

“Come away,” I murmured, taking her little hand in mine. But I hadn’t the heart to tell her.

As we drifted off together, a woman marched down the hallway; passing right through us on her way to answer the door.

“This book contains all people of evil.” The priestess stood before Kelly, handing her the thick, black tome. Each page revealed a long list of red names.

“If I destroy it, there won’t be any evil?” Kelly asked.

“Correct.”

Reaching for her back pocket, Kelly pulled out a silver lighter. A small flame came to life in her hand, wavering from Kelly’s own breath. Placing the flame to the book, she watched the names burn.

Her body became weak and frail, falling to the ground. The tome dropped beside her, flipping to a familiar name.

“I’m in this book…?”

“Everyone is.”

Marla knocked on the steel door of her new job, entering quickly. She had always dreamed of working in the make-up industry. Could she succeed? She excelled at hiding facial imperfections and smoothing uneven skin tones. Surely she’d be a natural here.

Marla assessed her first client, prone in the pine box. Yes, she could return color to the face and hide the bruising on the jawline. Once she closed the woman’s eyes, no one would see the bloodshot traces. Confidence coursed through Marla. She would give dignity to the dead woman’s body and comfort to her family.

Everyone starts somewhere.

He usually had breakfast with his friends but today he stayed home, in case his daughter called. She didn’t, but he knew she was busy with the kids.

He waited for the mail, but there was no card. Well, maybe tomorrow. Before he took a nap, he checked his phone twice to make sure the ringer was on.

She didn’t call.

He thought about birthdays, Christmas mornings, and graduations that he missed when he walked away. Instead, he created false memories which gave small comfort on other days.

That night he dreamt of grandchildren he’d never met, singing him Happy Birthday.

Nikolas was waiting in the check-out line when he spotted his neighbor, Emily, just ahead. She didn’t see him, though, because she was typing on her phone.

He stopped at Starbucks on his way home. Waiting for his tea, he looked around. Everyone was staring at their screens. He felt invisible.

As he returned to his car, a young woman nearly walked right into him. She was texting and seemed oblivious to the cars circling the crowded parking lot.

When he got home, Nikolas sat down at his kitchen table and got to work, crafting and posting fake news stories.