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101 Word Short Stories

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Pests

July 28, 2017 7 Comments

By Bobby Warner

When he came in to supper, his wife seemed upset and stood with her back to him. She was a strong woman, and when she went with him to the fields, she did more work than he.

“Pests!” she said, referring he supposed to the youths from town who were plaguing the farmers with mischief. “They killed all of my laying hens, and I had to punish them!”

He turned to her, bloodstains on her dress, tears streaming down her face.

“Helen, what have you done?”

“I—” The wail of a siren cut her short. Someone knocked heavily on the door.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anita Bodle says

    July 28, 2017 at 2:31 am

    Brilliant.

    Reply
  2. tskraghu says

    July 28, 2017 at 4:58 am

    fine example of ‘don’t tell’l

    Reply
  3. Jack Spies says

    July 28, 2017 at 6:32 am

    Indeed! We can only hope, Bobby. Well done.

    Reply
  4. Kimberly Gutierrez says

    July 28, 2017 at 7:12 am

    Really like the sense of urgency you created, also great job on presenting the scene and allowing it to unfold- Well done!

    Reply
  5. Dianne Hendricks says

    July 28, 2017 at 8:22 am

    Whoa! Packed a wallop. Good job, Bobby (except for the nightmares I will now have)!

    Reply
  6. Bobby Warner says

    July 28, 2017 at 9:34 am

    Thanks to all for your favorable comments. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (and again and again): It’s comments like this that keep this writer writing! By the by: A lot of the credit for this being a successful story goes largely to the editor at 101Words, who worked with me to make the story a better one!

    Reply
  7. b. says

    July 28, 2017 at 9:38 am

    Good job! The story is well paced, it does not allow the reader to anticipate what is to come.

    Reply

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