by submission | Mar 23, 2025 | Story |
Author: Daniel Rogers
“Victor, make coffee and display the weather.” I sank into my kitchen chair, scratching my messed-up mop of hair, wishing I’d gone to bed earlier.
“You failed to obtain the recommended eight hours of sleep. It would be beneficial to have a cup of strong coffee.”
“No, please. You know I don’t like strong coffee.”
“Affirmative, however, it would give you more energy.”
“I understand, but no.”
The kitchen screen came alive with puffy white clouds swimming in a sea of blue sky, today’s background for the weather. Victor remained conspicuously quiet.
“Are you ignoring me?”
“Negative, you asked for the weather.”
“Yeah, but what about the coffee?”
“It’s ready.”
I poured a cup and took a sip. It was strong.
“And they call you smart?”
I dumped it down the drain and ordered Victor to make another pot, threatening to uninstall him if he didn’t get it right.
“Mrs. Carpenter is the administrator. You do not have access to uninstall me.”
“Just make my coffee correct, and while you’re at it, play my fifties playlist starting with “Your Words Kill” by Bangled Chaos.
The hit song of 2252 boomed through the house. I laid back and soaked it in. A man should have his coffee how he wants it, especially at home.
“Interesting selection.”
“Thank you, Victor. I’m just sorry the subtleties are lost on you.”
“Your coffee is ready.”
I took a sip and cringed – even stronger. The subtleties were not lost on him.
“Fine! You want to play hardball? We’ll play hardball.” I dumped it again and went to the coffee maker.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m gonna do this the old-fashioned way.”
I tapped on settings and scrolled down the list until I found the Manual Override option. However, before I could tap it, the settings went haywire. It kept returning to the main screen without my prompting. I attempted to override the coffee maker several times manually, but each time the screen screwed up.
“Victor? Are you doing this?”
“It is for your good. Your weak coffee will not help you function at maximum capacity.”
Unbelievable! I’m being held hostage by my own smart home. There has to be a way to outsmart this guy.
I remembered Aunt Gladise’s antique coffee maker in the storage room. I dug through the clutter and found it. I placed it on a power plate in the kitchen and pushed the power button. It lit up.
“Ha, ha! Take that!” My exaltations abruptly ended when I realized I had no clue how to use the thing.
“Would you like me to find videos on how to operate your coffee machine?” Victor asked.
“Yes,” my suspicions rose, “That would be helpful.”
“I could not find videos on how to operate ancient coffee makers.”
“You are a piece of work.”
I used my phone and found 657 videos on how to operate a 21st-century coffee maker. After an hour, I finally made a cup of coffee the way I wanted.
I have to admit I’m exhausted. It took half a day, but I won, and that’s all that matters.
“Your vital signs show you are fatigued. You should have let me make you a cup of strong coffee.”
I nodded. I could use a nap right now. I hate it when he’s right.
by submission | Mar 22, 2025 | Story |
Author: Julie Zack
“Starlight, Starbright,
First star I see tonight,
Wish I may,
Wish I might,
Have this wish,
I wish tonight.”
Enid loved when her older sister, Tracy, spoke the words at bedtime.
“Do you remember the stars?” Enid asked.
“I do,” Tracy said, looking somehow both happy and sad. Enid couldn’t understand the sad part. She wished more than anything to see the stars.
“What were they like?”
Tracy sighed. It wasn’t a new question. Enid asked most nights. Usually, Tracy would tell the stories of constellations – myths living in the sky.
“Come on,” Tracy said. She grabbed a candle and fitted it in the lantern before taking Enid’s hand.
Tracy led Enid around the honeycomb pattern of rooms and narrow passageways. They cut through the Museum of Lost Objects — reminders of things that were once ordinary but held no value now. Enid marveled, not for the first time, at a bird feeder, something they used in the before to attract avians with seeds or nectar.
It was fantastical. The idea that people once had so much they left out food they didn’t need to bring birds who had no purpose. From what Tracy had said, they weren’t the large-breasted fowl that could make a meal, but common things that couldn’t feed a cat. Not that there were cats anymore.
They passed a bicycle and a hair dryer before exiting into a storeroom of lesser things. Tracy began to root around a disorganized pile, before coming up with a pad of multicolored paper.
“Construction paper,” she explained. “Kids used to make stuff with it.” Enid nodded, knowing there had been a time when children could be wasteful.
Tracy shuffled the pages until she found a black sheet. She chuckled and said, “you know, this could be the last piece of black construction paper in the world.” It didn’t sound funny to Enid. It frightened her.
Enid watched as Tracy pulled a pencil from her pocket and began delicately tracing lines and poking holes in the page. She was in awe of her much older sister, who had been born and not grown. After several minutes, Tracy looked up and smiled.
“Sit there,” Tracy commanded, “and close your eyes.”
Enid did as she was told.
“Now, open.”
Enid gasped. It was dark all around her, but she could see a pattern of glowing pinpricks in front of her eyes. She realized her sister was holding the construction paper in front of her, illuminated by the lamp.
“Do you see Ursa Major?”
It took Enid’s eyes a moment to focus as she searched. But there, she could see shapes in the light, and suddenly she made out the great bear.
“Yes,” she breathed.
“And what about Orion?”
Looking around, she saw the hunter with his shield.
“I see it!” She exclaimed. Her eyes were wet. The shapes were all over the page, filling her vision.
“Now,” Tracy said, “you’ve seen the stars.”
by submission | Mar 21, 2025 | Story |
Author: Colin Jeffrey
Sara was sure she had looked away for only a moment. That was all it took. Sam had vanished from the playground. Clouds gathered heavily in the sky as panic gripped her throat.
She yelled his name, over and again, her cries buffered by the indifferent wind. Soon other parents helped search, their projected fear palpable. Police were called. Hours stretched into night, hope atrophied to despair.
Then, as street lamps peppered the enveloping darkness with tiny oases of light, he reappeared. Standing at the edge of the forest, arms by his side, unusually still. People shouted, pointing excitedly in his direction.
Sara ran to him, gathering his precious little body into her arms. His clothes were unmarked, his face almost serene. “Oh my god, where were you?” she whispered through tears, voice trembling.
Sam looked up, his wide eyes reflecting something inscrutable. He smiled, but said nothing. Sara felt a touch of unease, but dismissed it – he was back, that was all that mattered.
Later that night, Sara tucked him into bed, brushing back his hair. “You’re safe now,” she said softly, kissing his forehead.
Sam smiled and rolled over as if to sleep, but then turned back to face his mother. He finally spoke, his voice clear but distant.
“They said you would wait for me.”
Sara’s chest tightened. “Who did?”
Sam paused. “The children in the ground.”
With that, he closed his eyes, and was silent once again.
by submission | Mar 20, 2025 | Story |
Author: Jo Gatenby
Lara hauled on her dust demon’s reins, desperate to keep the stupid creature on the coaster track and in the race. Desari’s wyrm, Dynamo, surged past them, scalding her with desert sand that slipped under her face mask, choking her.
With kicks and shouts, she urged Sandfire forward, but it was too late.
Second.
Again.
She ground her teeth. Damn it, she’d needed this win. As she strode back toward the stables, a message to her link stated the cola company, ‘Serpentade’, had decided ‘to go in another direction’.
Lara’s shoulders drooped. What else could she try?
Unbidden, the figure of the wild dust demon in training came to mind. Dad thought Devilry wasn’t ready. He was too young, untested. Yet he had more potential than any wyrm they’d ever raised. This planet spawned twelve-ton, walrus-like, scaled monsters, sporting razor-sharp teeth, but her family bred them for size—and speed.
Forget the balloon payment coming due on the mortgage… if Devilry won, breeding rights alone would set them up for life.
But there was only one week till the Interplanetary Championship. Dad would never agree. It was dangerous, irresponsible… but winning was their last hope. Old Sandfire just didn’t have it in him to beat Dynamo.
Although guilt pricked her, Lara defied her father, swapping the bulls’ nametags, to sneak Devilry onto the transport ship, for airlift to the circuit.
Now she sat astride the restless demon, reacting to the scent of other males so close by.
The horn blared…
The gate dropped…
Devilry surged forward with youthful arrogance. Snarling, he sped through the first coaster loop, ramming through the competition, nearing the front with a snort of pleasure. Yet Desari’s veteran demon stayed doggedly ahead, blocking every attempt to pass, either in the huge loops or on flat-out runs.
Amid bone-jarring crashes and ear-splitting roars, the pair edged ever closer to the lead—until only one twist of the narrowing track remained.
Devilry sped through the final loop, picking up speed, instinctively shoving hard to the inside. Banking into the corner, he surged right, driving Dynamo into the barricade.
Lara met Desari’s terrified eyes as his impetus forced the wyrm upward, waving his useless front legs in the air.
Top-heavy, he teetered. The crowd gasped, fearing he would fall atop the barrier wall, plummeting to the ground, and crushing his rider.
‘I want to win, but not like this!’
Devilry responded to her fear, using his forward momentum to arch backward—something demons were never built to do. He struck his opponent on the side, changing his trajectory.
Dynamo twisted, as Lara reached over, grabbed Desari’s hand, and pulled her to safety.
Another demon barreled past, taking advantage of their distraction.
Dynamo crashed down with a sickening crunch, his injured body blocking the track. Lara dropped Desari beside him. The sobbing rider stared up at her, and they shared a moment of grief.
Turning away, Lara pressed the bull forward, and moments later, they crossed the finish line.
Second. Again.
Cheers erupted, but they didn’t matter.
They’d lost.
She leaned against Devilry’s heaving side. They’d done their best. It just wasn’t enough. How could she face Dad? And what about Dynamo? They’d have to sell him, but…
A polite cough made her lift her head. A well-dressed man, incongruous amid the dust and confusion, held out a card. “I’m with ‘Serpentade Cola’. We want to offer you sponsorship.”
Lara stared. “But we lost,” she blurted.
“True,” he agreed. “But that rescue is what everyone will be talking about whenever Devilry races.”
He winked. “You can’t buy publicity like that.”
by submission | Mar 19, 2025 | Story |
Author: Melissa Kobrin
“Annie, it looks like Santa brought you one more present!”
Annie looked up eagerly from her nest of torn wrapping paper and new toys. The Christmas tree twinkled behind her, and outside the window the sun was barely beginning to peak over the horizon. She gasped when Daddy walked into the living room with a wrapped box so big he could barely get his arms around it. When the box twitched, she shrieked in excitement.
A kitten! It had to be a kitten! She had asked and asked and asked and now Santa had brought her one!
Daddy set the box on the floor and she scrambled over to it as Mommy watched from the couch. Holding her breath, she lifted the lid.
Orange and black fur and big brown eyes met her own. She gleefully reached out and stroked her new kitty as it scrambled around the box. It licked her hand and she giggled and ignored the low voices behind her.
“Ken! I thought we agreed Santa was going to bring a kitten!”
“He is a kitten. Well, I guess technically he’s a cub.”
“Ken!”
“Okay okay, Lizzie, I know, but the shelter said someone abandoned his whole litter in a parking lot. The little guy needed a home.”
“So you decided it had to be our home? We can’t take care of it.”
“The shelter did a gene-screen. He’s a mini, he won’t get more than forty pounds, and he has all the domestication gene markers. Plus, he’s already up to date on shots. Look how cute he is. She loves him.”
“You’re lucky you’re cute.”
“Merry Christmas, Lizzie.”
“Merry Christmas, you idiot.”
On the ground, Annie gathered her tiger cub up in her arms and hugged him.
