22 Word Stories

A soft knock on the door. She answers. A man. She says, “Hello”. Her man. Again, “Hello”. Pools of water. Her father.


Gun shots. The boy is reading. A woman crying. The boy is reading. His father yells his name. The boy is reading.


Drifting space. Lack of time. The world unknown. The world unseen. Yet here I am. Alone. No one to trust. Please help.


A field of roses. Beautiful at sight. An irresistible temptation. Approach. Possess. Touch. The rose no more. Gnashing teeth it has become.


He stands proudly. As he should. He has been taught. He has been trained. He has been killed. He will be forgotten.


She slides her hand across the table. He meets her grip. They are lovers. They are fighters. They will never be together.


How could this happen? How could we let it? Did we not try and stop it? We are ignorant. We are human.


Enveloped by darkness. Eyes fixated to the grey stone. The words mean nothing. It is what is beneath. Her love for him.


I stand here. Wondering. What is the purpose? There is none. I must make my own. This rope will define my life.


Passers by. Never to meet eyes . To meet each other. The love they could have had. If they had just met eyes.


Forbidden. Banned. Denied. Illicit. They run. They run hand in hand. They will prevail. They will escape. They will love each other.


Here I am. Naked. Nothing but myself. No shield. No cover. Just me. I am judged. I am ridiculed. I am myself.



(If anyone is particularly drawn to any one of these stories I would be more than happy to extend it into an actual short story. Simply leave a comment and I'll try to get on top of it.)