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101 Word Short Stories

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Still Life

January 16, 2025 2 Comments

By John Lemanski

Apoplexy. Aphasia. A box made solely of lids.

No one grows up imagining this, yearning to be a warden while trapped as a prisoner of the flesh.

His eyes were focused; he could roll his neck just enough to see his reflection in the mirrored closet doors. He mourned his gait, forgave the saddlebags and the muffin top that crowned his jeans. He wanted only to return to those imperfect but effortless turns of phrase, to bad jokes and easy laughter, to rub his own belly for good luck.

It was now still life, a zombie’s elegy of regret and remorse.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mike King says

    January 22, 2025 at 3:28 pm

    I can see that story growing into a book

    Reply
  2. Alan Moskowitz says

    January 23, 2025 at 10:43 pm

    Well done! Cleverly done.

    Reply

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