Category Archives: Micro-Stories

Small stories, 100 words or less

The World

The World
Fulfillment, harmony, completion

The nun smiles as the man thanks her profusely for her advice.  He had found himself led astray and not knowing which way to turn, but now he feels a great burden has been lifted.  She hugs him and wishes him well.

Once he has left the room, the nun reaches into the sleeve of her robe and removes a long knife.  She stares at the reflection of the candles on the blade before going to look for a victim.  She had just performed a good deed, after all, and the universal scales must be balanced.

Judgment

Judgment
Reflection, reckoning, awakening

The man thinks only of his daughter as the jury foreman reads the decision.  He already knows the verdict.  The prosecution had bungled their case, and now his girl’s killer is going to walk free because of it.

He retrieves the small doll from his pocket.  The strange woman that had sold it to him had assured him that it would work.  He had believed her.

He grabs the doll’s head and pulls it free from the body.  There are screams throughout the courtroom as the defendant’s blood erupts from the hole where his own head once was.

The Sun

The Sun
Joy, success, celebration, positivity

The man throws open the window to let in the bright sunlight.  It is a wonderful summer morning, and he’s determined to not waste a second of it.

The window looks out over the sparkling bay of the small Spanish town.  He savors the view as the pleasant sea breeze washes over him.  He had thought many times that he would never have a place like this to call his own, but he was glad to have been wrong.

And all it had taken in the end was the willingness to slit the throats of the owners as they slept.

The Moon

The Moon
Unconscious, illusions, intuition

The spirits fill the large room, their loud wails bouncing off of the stone.  The woman stares at the ghostly gathering before closing her eyes and moving forward.  There are hundreds of spirits here, but she only seeks a particular one and it’s impossible to see it in the group.  She trusts that her other senses will guide her.

She smiles tightly as she hears a particular scream.  She would recognize her husband’s voice anywhere.  Reaching into her robe, she retrieves a small bag of ingredients.  This purgatory is too good for him.  It’s time to send him to Hell.

The Tower

The Tower
Sudden upheaval, broken pride, disaster

The prince runs through the dark hallways of the manor, the sounds of battle echoing all around him.  He doesn’t know why the people have risen up against his father, but at the moment it doesn’t matter.  All that matters is that he gets far away from here before they tear him to pieces.

He rounds a corner and finds himself face-to-face with a man.  The man’s throat is torn out, and blood and gore covers him.  He moans and reaches out his arms as the prince turns to hurry down a different passage.

The Devil

The Devil
Addiction, materialism, playfulness

The woman slowly rolls the hundred dollar bill in her fingers.  She can feel the man’s gaze on her as she does so, and she looks up only long enough to give him a teasing smile.  She knows exactly what it is that he wants, and she’s willing to give it to him as long as he does the same for her.  Using the tips of her index finger and thumb, she slowly spreads the cocaine across the plate.

“Go on, then,” she tells the man.  “Sign the contract.  What’s a soul compared to what I’m offering?”

Temperance

Temperance
Middle path, patience, finding meaning

The killer pulls back tighter on the garotte, feeling the last of the victim’s strength draining away.  The man put up a better struggle than he had assumed, but it was finally over now.  The tongue rolls out of the mouth as the body slumps down onto the bedroom floor.  It is a wonderful moment.  He has waited for it for so long…

He is roused from the daydream as he arrives at the man’s house.  It is time to turn dream into reality.  He smiles to himself.  Tonight his patience will be rewarded with all the man has.

The Hanged Man

The Hanged Man
Sacrifice, release, martyrdom

The soldier walks out towards the middle of the battlefield, his arms extended outward towards the sides.  He moves slowly as he crosses the distance between the two armies.  For the first time, the battlefield is silent.

The opposing archers don’t release their arrows.  The soldier knows that the sight of an unarmed person walking through No Man’s Land must be confusing.  He also knows that soon an officer will order them to fire, and he will die when that happens.

It will also release the dark spirits inside of him.  He smiles to himself.  Everyone will die with him.

Justice

Justice
Cause and effect, clarity, truth

The man grabs at his head, the pain that fills it so intense that he nearly collapses back onto the ground.  Slowly, the agony begins to fade.  He leans up against a tree and waits for the last of it to pass.  That was the worst migraine he had ever experienced.

He doesn’t know where he is.  Looking around, he finds that he’s standing in a small graveyard in the middle of a forest clearing.  Confusion fills him as he sees his name written on the nearest tombstone, and the hole he had crawled out of in front of it.

The Wheel of Fortune

The Wheel of Fortune
Change, cycles, inevitable fate

The man holds the red container over his head and pours the gasoline onto his body.  He makes sure that every inch of himself is soaked with the fluid before dropping the container.  Reaching into his pocket, he retrieves a small lighter from his pocket.  The moment the fire touches his clothing he bursts into flames.

Death is fleeting.  It takes him for just a moment before releasing him.  He climbs out of the ashes of his old body and goes back out into the world, once again seeking a way to finally find the end.