Pilot Short Story Contest-Image 2
by Bryan Belanger
My satyr and me – The Dishes When a satyr answered my ad for a roommate I thought, awesome, someone who can split the rent and entertain guests with the occasional pan flute rendition of Stairway to Heaven. But lately I find it hard to hide my immense disappointment. He sits at home on the couch, all day, doing nothing but eating baked beans and Mr. Noodles while playing video games. When I came home today, that’s how I found him. “Did you at least do the dishes?” I asked. “What do you think?” he snapped, not even looking up from World of Warcraft. “I think if I go back there I’m going to find dirty dishes.” He laughed through his nose arrogantly as he brushed dried noodles off his goat pants. “Gees Norman, they’re your dishes!” I bitched, throwing my hands in the air. “RELAX you rabbit fucker!” he yelled as he leapt to his hooves. The words irrupted and hung above us like a mushroom cloud. We stood underneath it until my guts boiled and my self-control evaporated so rapidly that I couldn’t take it any longer and turned away. “That doesn’t even make sense.” I said from the back of my head. by Steph Small-Ross Like Rabbits
I look at her; eyes still closed, hair spread over her face. The prairie wind lifts the skirt and reveals her white kneecaps. Beautiful. Just beautiful. I feel weak.
The cloud is getting bigger and bigger.
She treats me like dirt.
Turns her head and stares at me. Can’t speak. This thing down my throat.
I clear my throat.
She gets up and wipes her glasses, her figure towering over me.
The cloud is mushrooming in distant planes. Close to the city. I sit up.
Come on!
I must know.
by Fouad Oveisy THE MORNING WALK I walked down the birch-alley with a very sinister purpose in mind. I was going to trap a rabbit, which was fated to be skinned and cooked; this rabbit would be trapped, just the way I was trapped me under my surroundings. Was it an act of consolation? Would I be consoled by this act; by showing that I’m not the only one who’s cornered & about to be peeled alive? Was it an act of defiance? Or maybe I was hoping to channel my own bitterness into something else; to reconcile my fate with the universe by making this sacrificial offer. These possible answers couldn’t provide any reasons. It was sinister because there really was no way of justifying this morning walk. A piece of wire hung on my left index finger, glistening in the sun as I walked. by Jiye Julie Bai Never Trust Witches
My wife said it was too hot outside and stayed home.
I was sitting on the bench near the pond when a girl came up to me. Right away I could tell that she was not a human being. She had wild sparkles in her eyes. She said that she could turn me into an animal, just for ten minutes if I wanted. The experiment did not scare me. I somehow liked the witch. Her name was Belinda.
The little witch turned me into a rabbit. I felt uncomfortable because I was very close to the ground. Trees and bushes were so big.
When a female rabbit approached me I immediately found myself at her back doing my job. In a few moments it was over. The female rabbit ran away. Life was good. I enjoyed lying in the sun. I felt relaxed.
The bliss was interrupted by Belinda. My time was over. I jumped to the bushes. The metamorphosis was neither painful, nor unpleasant. I felt OK. All my clothes were on me, as they
It was only when I came home that I realized what I had done. I had sex with somebody else! I was a cheater. I was standing on the porch. It was hard to do regular things, like turning the key, kissing my wife and looking into her eyes. by Farida Samerkhanova |
