flash fiction

Are You Willing?

/ roughwighting / 114 Comments

Kauai, moonlit night, magical realismWhen Nora was young she allowed others to know of her difference. But many years ago she learned to keep her night-time charms to herself. Now, at 36 years, no doctors or therapists, no detectives or boyfriends could tell her what was “wrong” with her.

Absolutely nothing was wrong with her, and she kept it that way by keeping her secret to herself. Yes, she needed to be a solitary woman, but as a college professor, an opera lover, a hiker and a traveler, she could get out and about without colleagues figuring out what she was up to after midnight. Continue reading →

What’s in the Trunk?

/ roughwighting / 144 Comments

science fiction story, bloggingWhen the cop stops her, Janine does her best to appear calm. Unworried.

She presses the button slowly so her driver’s side window slides open as if Janine has all the time in the world.

The policeman is big, burly, and surly.

“Crap,” Janine mutters.

“Driver’s license.”

Janine wills her hands to not shake as she pulls her wallet out of her purse and finds the fake ID. Continue reading →

Yes, Virginia,There Is . . .

/ roughwighting / 124 Comments

bus stop, missing a bus, Christmas storyGinny was worried. Not about just one thing, like the fact that her paycheck would not be enough to pay all the bills this month. She was not worried about just two things, like the rumor that her ex was in town.

No, Ginny was worried about more than a dozen things as she rode the bus from her gray non-descript apartment building in the center of the city toward the more glamorous, clean, shiny suburb 40 minutes away. Continue reading →

Strangers in the Dark

/ roughwighting / 140 Comments

martini night, suspense, blog contestDebra races home, ready for a martini, a bowlful of nuts, and a good book. She’s halfway through that suspense she picked up two weeks ago. What’s the title? Ah, Strangers in the Dark.

As Debra’s Toyota slides into the driveway of her home (well, she muses, not really her home), she notices that neighbor Eugene’s car is not in its usual space near the front walk of his split level. Continue reading →