55 flash fiction friday #78: all that jazz

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sing it, ella
They say living well is the best revenge.
(Now you say you're lonely)
I have to agree.
(You cried the long night through)
Cause life? Is damned good these days.
(Well you can cry me a river, cry me a river)
And I feel too good
(I cried a river over you)
To feel bad.

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Note: I suppose there's a little non-fiction in this one. The last three non-lyric lines are certainly true enough. But mainly this is just a vibe from the photograph.

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55 flash fiction friday #77: and now for something completely different

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what was, was
Even out here he could hear her voice. It wasn't the stray-cat-meets-rusty-screen-door quality of it that made him cringe. It was all the memories of the Litany of Not Enough. Not smart enough, not pretty enough, just not enough. Not ever. Not even now, as she lay in state at her own wake.

"Goodbye mom."

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Note: Completely fictional. Any similarities to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

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55 flash fiction friday #75: renewal time

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at the dmv
"The white signs are regulatory, the yellow signs are caution signs.

"'And the difference is?'

"The laws on the white signs are enforced by the police. The laws on the yellow signs are enforced by natural selection.

"She didn't get it. Went right over her head."

"You're kidding."

"Did I mention this was the examiner?"

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Note: This is pure fiction. I would never disparage the good people of the NC DMV except in fun. (Honest!)

Alternate Endings
Got an idea how this story ends? Or begins? Check out the "Alternate Endings Party Game"
This week we have a new player, Lisa of A Blogoddess' Tale who penned a new ending to an old(er) story. And it happened to be one of my favorites.
To see everybody's contributions on everything, visit here.

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55 flash fiction friday #74 - now ya tell me

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advice from a friend
Never fall for a writer.

Not a good one anyway.

You can never know her. You'll wander through the funhouse wondering how much is real and how much is reflection or illusion. Wondering where the author ends and the character begins.


Then she'll complain that you don't understand.

And you know what? She'll be right.

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I've Seen That Movie Too
Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Rocket Group Pty LTD - 1973)

Alternate Endings
Got an idea how this story ends? Or begins? Check out the "Alternate Endings Party Game"
Last week's offerings can be found here.
To see everybody's contributions on everything, visit here.

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55 flash fiction friday #73: conversation for one - iv

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vespers
Every night his dog sniffed the same fence-line, while he stared into the same sky, asking the same questions.
"Have you seen her? Is she okay?"

Every night, the same silence.
"Yeah. Thought so. Just take care of her, okay?"

One night, after months, his phone hummed to him.
"Hello?"
"Sorry, wrong number."
Click.

"Sad."

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Alternate Endings
If you've been hanging around for the last few weeks, you've heard about the "Alternate Endings Party Game" I started a while back. Originally it was just a single 55 that I thought could be spun a bunch of different ways and I invited people to fill in the blanks. Then someone carpe-ed some diem and wrote one for a different story, so the game expanded. You can find all of the original stories and the alternate endings at the link above. If you feel the muse, have a go at any of the ones already listed there or any others you might feel like. As people add to them, I'll expand that section to include any that people pick up. No rules, just write (to paraphrase the Outback Steakhouse commercials).

Titanium wasted no time in putting together something for this week's story (Seriously, the link wasn't even up yet folks! That girl is quiiiick.)
Last week's offerings can be found here. To see everybody's contributions on everything, visit here.

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55 (x2) flash fiction friday #72: conversation for one - ii/iii

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listen
Be with me.
But not with me.
Not where we breathe the same air.
Not where you can touch me.

Listen to me.
When I say nothing.
Or speak in riddles.
I know you understand.

Talk to me.
But don't say too much.
Don't say anything too meaningful.

And never ever say, "I love you".

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unperson
I was real once.
Once.
I had eyes, ears, arms...

And a heart.

I wasn't an RSS feed to turn off when I ceased to be amusing.

Real people, they're messy. They eat, sweat, shit, bleed...

And feel.

You liked the real person. Once. Or so it seemed.

Or maybe not. I don't know anymore.

 Graciously hosted by G-Man.

Alternate Endings
If you've been hanging around for the last few weeks, you've heard about the "Alternate Endings Party Game" I started a while back. Originally it was just a single 55 that I thought could be spun a bunch of different ways and I invited people to fill in the blanks. Then someone carpe-ed some diem and wrote one for a different story, so the game expanded. You can find both of the original stories and the alternate endings at the link above. If you feel the muse, have a go at either of the ones already listed there or any others you might feel like. As people add to them, I'll expand that section to include any that people pick up. No rules, just write (to paraphrase the Outback Steakhouse commercials).

Titanium has already jumped on the first of these two with an amusing look ta unconditional love.

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55 flash fiction friday #71: conversation for one - i

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"The ones we love hurt us worst. Only they get close enough to do real damage. I know this -- it's why I don't fall in love.

Until I do.

Then it turns to shit. And I fix that hole in the wall because dammit, nobody's getting in again.

Until they do.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat."

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For those of you who were around last week, a few people decided to play along with my Alternate Endings Party Game. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, the setup is here, and there's really no time limit. If you feel the muse strike, have a go at it and I'll post the link on the page where lives the setup. The offerings so far are choice and varied. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.
The Rest Of The Story According To:
Titanium (Taking no prisoners!)
Sandy Carlson (A series of unfortunate events.)
PattiKen (The Stuff of Nightmares!)

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55 flash fiction friday #69: faithless friend

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He heard the noises upstairs. The voice, her voice, calling out the name of his best friend. Dreading but knowing what he would discover, he climbed the stairs to the bedroom.


"How could you?", he cried to her his voice thick with anguish.


"And you!", he said to his friend, "Bad dog! Bad, bad dog!"

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55 flash fiction friday #68: the whole truth

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"People will tell you what they want you to know."

"True. But it’s not always the whole truth. They’ll tell you as much as they can."

"Meaning?"

"Some things... you can’t say."

"Because?"

"Maybe you’re afraid of the reaction. Or afraid it’ll hurt someone."

"Like what?"

"I can’t say."

"Because?"

"I’m afraid of both things."

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55 flash fiction friday #67: wait. what?

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"I think there's a book in that. Your book."

He stared at the blinking cursor waiting patiently for his reply. Of all the surprising things she'd ever said, he wouldn't in a lifetime have ever seen that one coming. But then, she was like that. Surprising, and delightfully unpredictable.

"A book?" he finally tapped back.

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55 Flash Fiction Friday #66: My Song

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"I look back for a moment and I catch a smile that blows this whole fuckin' place apart."*

Yeah.

It's like that.

I look down to the right of my screen... and I'm lifted up. Do you suppose Bruce wrote that song just for me?

Probably not, huh? No matter. It works anyway.

It works.

*Queen of the Supermarket - Bruce Springsteen

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55 Flash Fiction Friday #65: PS: I Love You

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"I love you."

"But…"

"No. That's the wrong conjunction. 'But' can never follow 'I love you'. It can precede it, but never follow it. Not if the love is real. The unconditional sort of love."

"So what conjunction does follow a real 'I love you' then?"

"'And' works."

"But not 'but'?"

"No. There are rules."

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55 Flash Fiction Friday #64: Waiting

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Damn daffodils. They've been taunting me for weeks. Daffodils are her favorite you see. And you can't get them from the florist. I've tried. You can find everything else, but not these stubborn little yellow buggers. Maybe they don't hold up well after they're cut. So I'm stuck waiting for these guys.

Grow, damn you.

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55 Flash Fiction Friday #63: The Great White Hope

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How many nights had he spent in places just like that? How many too-loud, conversations with people he didn't know? How many times had he cheated death after one-too-many empty glasses led to one-too-many empty promises? Reaching instinctively for the ribbed circle of white plastic in his pocket, he shook his head and walked on.

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55 Flash Fiction Friday #62: Too Much

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"He called you what??"

"Morphine. Said it was his nickname for me."

"Well I can understand that to a degree. I can understand the intoxication for sure. And the addiction."

"'Too much can kill', he said"

He searched the mental quote archives and selected a suitable line.

"Every man dies. Not every man truly lives."^*

^*In case you're wondering, the line is from Braveheart

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55 Flash Fiction Friday #61: Prescience

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Blue light reflected off the ceiling as the phone buzzed angrily on the nightstand. He flipped the annoyed device open and thumbed the buttons that would take him to the inbox where she waited. Through the haze of half-wakefulness he smiled as he read. How the hell did she always know just what to say?

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55 Flash (non-)Fiction Friday #60: A First Time For Everything

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The beach has always been there. The storms and currents and forces of nature have reshaped it some over the centuries, but it is still pretty much the same beach it has always been. But today it looks different. Today I am seeing it for the first time. And it has never looked so good.

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55 Flash Fiction Friday #59: The Invitation

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Two pairs of grey-green eyes locked. Two pulses quickened. Two pounding hearts pumped a thunderous rush of blood that muted the din of the revelry around them. "Well?" she wondered as the final seconds of the year ticked away, "Does he need an invitation?".

"Happy New Year.", he smiled.

"Shut up and kiss me."

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55 Flash Fiction Friday #57: Ciao Muthaf*#&^@!

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No story behind the story here... just a photo I took a while back that seemed like a good 55 prompt.

At this distance, the city was actually kinda pretty. It wasn't until you got up close or saw it in good light that it took on the look of the soul-sucking pit of despair he'd come to know it as.

He turned up his collar against the chill, happily leaving it behind for the rats.

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55 Flash Fiction Friday #56: Act I, Scene I (Exposition) PLUS a Birthday Extra for the G-Man

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Stop the presses!

Okay, so would somebody explain to me why out of all the 55 fans out there, nobody told me that Our Host With the Most From Coast to Coast was turning 60 today? 'Cause ya'll gotta know by now we do birthdays big around here.

Happy Birthday G-Man! (in exactly 55 words)

We now resume your regularly scheduled 55 already in progress. I actually wrote this one over a year ago, but never got around to using it. Kept it in draft as a "backup". And since I was sort of in a time crunch this week it seemed like a good time to whip it out.

ex·po·si·tion: -noun dialogue, description, etc., that gives the audience or reader the background of the characters and the present situation.

The freshening onshore breeze brought a slight chill to the balcony where he stood. For the sixtieth time that hour he checked his watch, still only 5:15. He frowned as he heard the voice call out "Housekeeping". The frown vanished as the door swung open.

"You came a long way to bring clean towels."

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