Author: Jill Broscious

6.12.21

Genre: Suspense
Action: Hailing a taxi
Word: Bubblegum
Word Count: 100

No Escape

Instinctively, his nerves fired a five-alarm siren. His cover was blown.

Protocol required proof. The predetermined signal: bubblegum affixed beneath a Central Park bench.

Irrefutable, his fingers groped the hardened plastic clump.

Before escaping to Montauk where a boat would transport him to an island safehouse somewhere in the Atlantic, he had to say goodbye.

The taxi dropped him off at her brownstone on the Upper West Side. Upon entering, he cringed seeing her gagged and bound. Before he could fight, a burlap sack stifled his cries, his limbs immobilized by zip ties.

The boat would have to wait.

6.11.21

Genre: Spy
Action: Meditation
Word: Pen
Word Count: 99

Spycraft Dilemma

Undercover operations and camera-pen gadgets were old school. Today’s intelligence gathering is done by intuitive visionaries: aka psychics.

Sandy’s first assignment: determine if there is a plot afoot to attack American troops. Dropping into meditation, a scene emerged depicting two men arguing about the bomb’s location. The suitcase wedged between them, presumably their payment.

Confident in her intel, Sandy transmitted the details to Afghanistan’s CIA Station Chief. He dispatched the bomb squad to defuse the explosive and field agents to apprehend the perps.

Not aware she still watched; agents pocketed some cash from the confiscated suitcase.

Should she tell?

6.8.21

Genre: Open
Action: Self-reflection
Word: Mirror
Word Count: 99

House of Mirrors

Zen koan: To attain Enlightenment, look in the mirror.

Egad…which one?

Tinfoil-laminated glass reflects physical form. Eyes return a gaze; their secrets impossible to comprehend.

The material world, a movie projected by collective imagination – its beauty, its horror, a juxtaposition of light and dark. Is God the eternal dance?

Our interior realm, individual imagination’s domain. Its flashlight focused on what can be felt, intuited, educed from Infinity’s formless void. Perhaps a cauldron. Maybe the Holy Grail. Who decides?

There is no exit from this House of Mirrors, only rooms in which to live. Which mirror will be your home?

6.6.21

Back from Va-Kay and fully recovered from round 2 of covid vaccine:

Genre: Sci-Fi
Action: Travel
Word: Bell
Word Count: 99

Teleportation

A clarion call emerged from within. Clear as a bell: Come. Did she just want company, or was this dire need? Where was she, anyway?

The television screen between my eyes projected Mykonos Island: warm blue-green sea, pristine white sand, a tawny body lounging in a pink bathing suit, fruit drink clutched in one hand.

Concentrating on that vision, my gazillion cells rumbled, preparing for flight, like jet engines gathering force for liftoff.

Attaining transport’s required threshold, my body dematerialized instantly, then reconvened as it tumbled onto the beach.

She handed me a towel and we resumed our chat.

6.1.2021

I experienced “writer’s block” for the first time since I started this daily practice of short-story writing in April. I couldn’t write anything for 4 days, which coincided with recovery from my second COVID shot! Coincidence? 🙂

So, after 4 days of silence, here is my next ditty. The genre is supposed to be “thriller,” but I don’t think this meets that bar. Still, it evokes something mysterious, I think.

Genre: Thriller
Action: Getting a hair cut
Word: Wind
Word Count: 98

Turbulence

The steamy air was still. Bright sunshine lightened my dark mood. Getting a haircut will cool my head.

Freshly cropped, I scurried to the car. Black clouds tumbled in the distance. Chaotic winds tousled my new do.

A storm was brewing.

The blinding deluge pinged hailstones, pedal note to the roaring freight train gaining on me.

An illuminating flash thrust me into the heart of the cyclone. Its thrashing infused me with inexplicable calm.

Finally thrown out to pasture, shaken but unharmed, I surveyed the vast destruction all around.

With awe, I wondered, how did I survive this?

I almost didn’t do a story today, but I hate to break my daily streak (34 days in a row, I think). For what it’s worth….

5.27.21

Genre: Romantic Comedy
Action: Walking down the street
Word: Tiger
Word Count: 100

Cats v. Dogs

Lucky leapt off the couch, wagging his way to the leash by the door. Walk Time.

Strolling our usual route, we froze at the park’s entrance. Not 100 yards away a man approached with a tiger by his tail.

Don’t be alarmed! Lady is tame, I promise.

Lucky and Lady sniffed each other. Boy and girl did the same. Conversation flowed. Beasts behaved. Talked dinner. Exchanged numbers. Love match?

His parting words: It’ll never work, you know. We’ll start fighting like cats and dogs. Dog people and cat people…there’s no middle ground.

Lucky started barking. Lady let out a roar.

5.26.21

Genre: Romance
Action: Having a conversation
Word: Watermelon
Word Count: 97

Love Endures

Widowed recently, Jane was reluctant. But her childhood friend, now dying, insisted they all gather. A decades-overdue reunion.

The festive picnic cloaked the occasion’s somber undertow. Someone suggested playing their long-forgotten game: For every watermelon seed in your slice, you must share an embarrassing story.

Laughter and teasing ensued with each reminiscence.

Jane’s turn again. Unprepared, her heart flooded. Powerless to control the feelings, she burst into tears recalling her first love.

The balding, fleshy man beside her gently patted her ringless hand, whispering in her ear words no one else could hear.

Her eyes sparkled anew.
 

5.25.21

Genre: Political Satire
Action: Hiding something
Word: Box
Word Count: 98

God Bless America

To compete with The Kardashians, a new reality show was pitched. Multiple networks vied for the contract. Bravo won.

Forget “House of Cards.” Think outside the box. Why pay actors, writers, set designers, seamstresses? Let’s stream the First Family 24/7.

In the comfort of their easy chairs, Americans can discover the secrets politicians hide, revel in all their relationship foibles, uncover the real power brokers pulling government’s strings.

Best of all, just like “American Idol,” citizens can cast their votes via text without having to lift another finger. They decide who stays, who goes.

A perfect democracy.

Bravo!

5.24.21

Genre: Mystery
Action: Opening a door
Word: Pebble
Word Count: 100

Another Dimension

A typical family gathering morphed into calamity. Where did she go? Mid-conversation her body simply vanished. Dematerialized. Poof!

Panic erupted. Their minds couldn’t grasp illogical phenomena. No one knew what to do.

Except little Larry. He saw what others couldn’t. First one, then another. Iridescent pebbles dropped like breadcrumbs.

Leaving the handwringers, he followed the trail. At the end of the line emerged an antique door with a golden knob.

Dare he enter? Was she there? He knocked. No answer.

Grasping the handle, he turned it slowly. A vortex sucked him in. The door slammed shut.

Where did he go?

5.23.21

Genre: Horror
Action: Swimming in the ocean
Word: Typewriter
Word Count: 100

Cautionary Tale

Perched at the typewriter, the obit reporter began:

She loved the ocean but feared its fathomless abyss. Rarely venturing into the water, majestic waves enthralled her remotely, safely.

Breakers sputtered along the shoreline. Tamed. Teasing. Beckoning. Come!

Irresistibly lured, her toes tipped the tickly foam. Cautious. Then bolder. Soon ungrounded, she surrendered to floating in space.

The liquid monster blindsided. Pummeled her like a load of laundry in spin cycle. Lungs pressed. Limbs thrashed. She succumbed.

A sinking feeling the last thought before her mind faded to black.

Job’s wisdom remains: The thing we greatly fear will come upon us…