Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Bookmarks - a short story (Special Edition)

Bookmarks – a short story

She reached for her bookmark, but it wasn’t where she left it. She asked her husband, “Have you seen my bookmark? I know I left it on the end table,”

“I’m reading the same book,” he responded. “Remember, the library only had one copy. Maybe you left it in your favorite chapter,” he pointed at the book.

She turned back several pages for the most recent bookmark and held it in her hand. But there were more – more bookmarks sticking out of her mystery novel. She flipped back through the pages and stopped at every bookmark. She reread those pages and smiled in fond memory. She looked around her family room at the many photographs of grandchildren and great-grandchildren and smiled again. Then, as she continued, she realized that many of the pages had been erased. Mysteriously, this also made her smile since these were the pages with errors. She looked up at the cross on the wall with a tear and closed her thankful eyes.

Then she turned back to where she left off that morning and turned the page to continue. But it was blank. Not erased. It was just blank. So were the remaining pages of the novel. She appeared a bit perplexed – at first.

“What is it, my dear?” Her husband asked.

Her smile was her answer. She set the bookmark down and picked up a pen. She gazed out the window, at the photographs and at the cross on the wall, and then back into her husband’s eyes – and began to write.

 

Monday, September 1, 2025

The Reform Club - a short story

The Reform Club (Fiction 101 Series)

Arthur rocked back with a deep gasp. His eyes appeared like someone else was behind them. Startled, Herbert reached for his shoulder. Jules reacted in a similar fashion.

“What is it, my friend?” Herbert asked.

“Your mustache is thicker than I had imagined,” Arthur examined him.

“‘Thicker!’ What the devil do you mean? We’ve know each other for years.”

Jules suddenly mirrored Arthur’s gasp. He nodded at Arthur as if they had a prearranged assignment. “You need to write about the future,” he implored.

“It’s imperative you write about what we’ve seen,” Arthur urged.

Herbert examined them closely, “Perhaps, another drink?”

~

(Click here to read the story from the other side of time.)

Time Traveling Tattoo - a short story

Time Traveling Tattoo (Fiction 101 Series)

When she first applied the needle at the base of my neck, the tingling of her artwork filled my mind. An empty Victorian seat, a spinning disc, a set of glowing controls and a long brass lever appeared over the course of the next few hours. Every few minutes she blew on the ink. Finally, she flashed the image to me with a mirror. Her soft breath sent a shiver down my spine and back into my skull. Suddenly, I sat before two gentlemen discussing their work.

Startled, Jules swore in French.

Herbert exclaimed, “Arthur, you don’t seem to be yourself!”

~

(Click here to read the story from the other side of time.)