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

The Magic is Gone

December 1, 2020 4 Comments

By Angie Dent

The magician’s harsh words and unrelenting fists had battered both her face and soul. She adorned the spangled costume for her last performance and applied her makeup in thick layers to hide from the audience what was buried beneath. She revelled in the applause as she took centre stage for the grand finale.

She posed before the artfully crafted coffin while the aging magician dramatically lifted the sheet for her to hide inside. She looked him in the eye, slipped into the box, and this time stretched to her full length.

A swan song of horrified screams played out her departure.

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. Susan F. Reid says

    December 1, 2020 at 7:13 am

    Sad choice for an abuse case to make. Nicely written.

    Reply
  2. Derek says

    December 1, 2020 at 7:33 am

    Scary. I expected her to take a terrible revenge on the magician. Now I realise this was a kind of revenge.

    Reply
  3. Amanda Moylan says

    December 1, 2020 at 6:09 pm

    This is one of my favourites. So deep.

    Reply
  4. Rita says

    December 7, 2020 at 2:51 pm

    Wow. Great story. Paints a sad and grim picture with a morbid ending. I’m glad I wasn’t in their audience. Nice job.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.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

Primary Sidebar

Search Stories

The end.