This periodic magazine highlights a small selection of short stories posted to The Ink Well community that stood out and were awarded a Curie vote. Thank you to all authors in The Ink Well for sharing your creative work!
Important Note
We are showcasing authors who have contributed well-written and edited stories, have read and commented on the work of other authors and comply with all of the community rules posted on our home page. These activities help our community thrive.
The following are just a few of our favorite stories from August 1 to August 8/ 2023.
Featured Author: 
@princessbusayo
The old metal iron
Pexels
The job was a dirty one. I used to go from house to house to pack dirt into the lorry until I was implicated and sacked. When I saw there was no way to survive, I thought about the iron, went to pick it up, cleaned it and the work started. I went from house to house asking if they had any dirty clothes and rugs which I helped them to wash and iron and I get paid. When I had saved a lot of money and saw how productive the business was, I opened a shop and hired a girl to be there. Whenever there was work, she would call me to come over and we would both wash and iron, then get it delivered.
Featured Author: 
@kemmyb
Water Globe Memories
Unsplash
Ibrahim loved to buy me gifts. On my birthday, he gave me a water globe because I had told him that I would love to own an aquarium someday. This water globe was like a mini fish bowl with a fish that danced anytime I shook the globe. I loved it.
"Did he give you that?" Mom asked. There was no point lying. I nodded.
"You must return it and any other gifts he gave you. Your Dad is not happy about this. If your elder sister had behaved this way, he wouldn't be surprised. But we did not expect this from you."
This speech further broke me down and I promised to return the gifts my boyfriend gave me.
Featured Author: 
@azss
The Dance of Destiny
Pixabay
Tonight, was the academy's final showcase. The prestigious event was attended by artistic directors from elite companies who selected dancers for coveted apprenticeships or jobs. Lily would be performing the lead in Swan Lake, the role she had dreamed of dancing since she was a little girl.
Backstage, Lily stretched and prepared, ignoring the searing pain in her hips. This was her moment. She had to be perfect. As the opening notes began, Lily stepped on stage, leaving the pain and fear behind. She WAS the Black Swan, tragic yet beautiful, vulnerable yet strong. With each step, she told the story, drawing the audience in. Her dancing was more emotional, more magical than ever.
Featured Author: 
@riverflows
On Remembering The Desert
Photo by the author
At night we watch the vast spread of stars twinkling through the holes in our hessian tent, sleeping on goat furs. I am awake a long time.
When we leave, Iache presses a stone into my hand. It has been carved by the desert winds over many years. I have never seen anything like it. As we cross back over the Atlas at night in a snowstorm, I hold it tight in my hand like a talisman. It comes with me all the way to Australia and sits on a windowsill in the bathroom where I see it every time I brush my teeth. There is a small glass bottle filled with sand from the Sahara too. Sometimes I pick them up and daydream of northern Africa.
Featured Author: 
@jazclassic
DANCE into INFINITY with me
Pixabay
But some dreams are meant to stay as dreams, or so I thought.
Spending all my savings for extra skating and ballet classes paid off. It was hard at first; being blind and dancing on ice skate shoes wasn't easy at all, and all the injuries and bruises from falling took the longest to heal, but I was better now, at least good enough to compete in this year's competition, but we needed to get our partners, and it was simple how it was done. The coach does this thing where the male skaters get to pick a folded piece of paper with the name of any girl in class to be their partner. And I knew I wouldn't be Aziz's partner because he was paired up with Kurri—not that it was wrong, but there was nothing wrong with a girl hoping.
Featured Author: 
@clemenp
Passageway at the Dance Academy
Pixabay
Everything was going very well, until the young girl noticed something strange in the mirror.
"Daniela, they are watching us through the mirror."
"Why do you say that?"
"I saw a pair of eyes, staring at us"
"It must be, your imagination"
When the class ended, only Eliana and Daniela were left in the room.
Eliana, felt that they were watching her and saw again, in the mirror, certainly someone was watching her, she stared, and there they were.
p.s. You can see the past magazines here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22,23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46,47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67,68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86,87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103,
104, 105, 106, 107,108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117
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