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101 Words

101 Word Short Stories

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Summer of ’87

April 7, 2023 9 Comments

By Joshua Michael Stewart

Jake’s 12 now. A year ago, on Lake Erie’s rocky shore as the sun bled into green water, Jake huddled next to Vicky, his best friend who lived across the street their entire lives, and as her voice cracked as she heaved out her secret, revealing the terrible things her stepfather committed, Jake reached for her hand, trembling. Later, police officers yanked him out of bed, dragged him to juvie where he stood before a judge in a crisp white shirt, broke a promise and confessed to what he did and why, and explained how he stole his mother’s Colt 45.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dick Noble says

    April 7, 2023 at 8:12 am

    good twist ending

    Reply
    • Rudolph Ferro says

      April 7, 2023 at 8:25 am

      Great story. Broke my heart.

      Reply
  2. Doug Jacquier says

    April 7, 2023 at 8:13 am

    A lifetime in 101 words. Brilliantly done.

    Reply
  3. Derek says

    April 7, 2023 at 12:07 pm

    This is very good flash fiction: not a wasted word.

    Reply
  4. Dhananjay Bapat says

    April 7, 2023 at 11:55 pm

    Simply superb!

    Reply
  5. Mary A Gorman says

    April 8, 2023 at 5:05 am

    Brilliant capturing of so many emotions in so few words

    Reply
  6. Aryan Ahire says

    April 8, 2023 at 6:20 am

    Wow !

    Reply
  7. Liz says

    April 10, 2023 at 4:13 am

    Perfect .

    Reply
  8. Susan says

    April 12, 2023 at 3:05 pm

    Great.

    Reply

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