Browsing Category 1000 Stories

in 1000 Stories

Shakespeare’s Worries – 48/1000

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“Write an English sonnet centered on the theme of the supernatural.”

Yeah, okay, I thought as I closed my laptop. No schoolwork for me today.

Instead I’m going to go out and enjoy the fresh air under a blue sky full of clouds and dance in the grass until I have to collapse there, lest I die.

I will lay and feel the breeze and smell the flowers around me, and hear the children laughing and the birds singing.

I can’t help but think it wasn’t writing to themes Shakespeare was worried about, it was missing perfect days like these.… Read the rest

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just a dog – 47/1000

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“Go get it Shirley, go get it!”

“Why did you name a dog Shirley? It doesn’t sound like a good name for a dog.”

“That was her name when I got her, when she retired from being the city’s top K-9 officer.”

“You mean dog.”

“No, I mean officer. They were treated like part of the police force, same as the humans.”

“That’s crazy.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re just dogs.”

“This dog just saved the lives of children who were drowning, you know. And children who were lost in fiery buildings. And children who liked to argue with their mothers.”

“Okay.”… Read the rest

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lost and gone – 46/1000

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She couldn’t get out of bed anymore, except to use the bathroom, and that’s only because she was forced and shamed into it.

She would have just laid there and died, it’s what she wanted.

Living alone was never something she was cut out for, and she didn’t want to do it.

She’d spend the rest of her breaths wrapped in black silk waiting for her turn to go.

It didn’t matter that she had a child who needed her, friends and family who loved her, or work that fulfilled her – nothing mattered but what was lost and gone … Read the rest

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speed demon – 45/1000

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They got him a new car every time he crashed his old one.

The kid was a speed demon, but they loved him no matter how reckless he was, no matter how casual he was with taking other people’s lives in his careless hands.

Trying to stop him was useless. He would have left home, he would have disappeared on them.

They would try to reason with him, they would tell him he might ruin his future (but not that he might die) and his only answer was:

“Speed never killed anyone. It’s becoming suddenly stationary, that’s what gets you.”… Read the rest

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getting late – 44/1000

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Forty-three years and I still feel like I am a child that is working hard on figuring things out on my own because no one cares enough to care for me.

I forgot to pay my taxes, I don’t know how to submit an insurance claim, I don’t know how to refinance my car, and feel like all I have to turn to is my new best friend Claude.

Is it ever really too late?

I mean, to become the person I want to be?

The sun is starting to set on this life, but I am not done yet.… Read the rest

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flowers would be nice – 43/1000

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The day winds down and you know you’re leaving work only to go home to try to answer the daily question of what the fuck is for dinner?

You’re glad to leave work, but going home has its own stressors.

There’s the child who chews with her mouth open, loudly. There’s the boyfriend whose loyalty you question. There’s the job you love but you’re terrified of losing.

But you open the door and there are flowers on the table; vibrant, bright, ferociously alive.

Their scent is a welcome assault; you breathe and smile.

You never know what’ll be a daymaker.… Read the rest

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the sword – 42/1000

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I didn’t want to fight. I wasn’t made for battle, I was made to sit on a throne and be quiet and pretty.

When my brother ran in, he was already mortally wounded and died in my arms.

His blood was the anger I needed to pick up his sword and fight back.

A rebel entered. Had I been empty handed, he may have left, but I was armed, and he engaged me.

His sword came down, and I saw the faces of my people in his blade.

I hacked and stabbed and finally killed him.

But all for nothing.… Read the rest

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jilted – 41/1000

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“Tell me, was I just another pawn in your elaborate game of chess?”

“You were, but unlike the other pawns you managed to become my queen.”

“I am not your queen! I have no crown; she got your crown!”

“But you get me. You get my nights my mornings, my kisses, my hugs and love. You get all of that, she gets none of it.”

“Games! It’s just games you play and nonsense you speak!”

“No, my love, no, you are the queen of my heart.”

“But not by name, so I will never sit by you on your throne.”… Read the rest

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bad chimp – 40/1000

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When the chimp attacked I left my body. I wasn’t there when he pounded at my face with his fists, when he jumped up and down on my stomach and groin, crushing me.

I barely remember being taken away with lights flashing, sirens blaring, but I remember waking up in agony, feeling like someone had ripped my body apart and sloppily put it back together.

“I’m sorry, the injuries to your face were too severe, we couldn’t save it,” the doctor said.

I know I’m a monster, but I’m trying to approach life with grace, while wearing someone else’s face.… Read the rest