#storyinfiftywords

First there was radio. Then one channel. Eventually a slew of cable channels and then streaming subscription sites. Now endless content accessible with a single click. And it helped a little but in all

The city was a ghost town. Tumbleweeds rolled dramatically across the highways. Somewhere in the suburbs a dog wailed lamentations at the moon, his owners long gone and his name all but forgotten. Humanity's

"So, you're not going to introduce me?!" "I didn't mean to offend you, I just didn't think -" "That's right. You didn't think. Hello everyone! Nice to meet all of you. We've never

If you build it, they will come. Now there was all this inventory and not even a hint of the level of demand needed to clear it. That's what you get for treating platitudes like business plans. Thousands

Bake. Contour. Tightline. It seemed like all the other girls, no, the other women were privy to some secret code but she had not even known it existed until recently. Hours of YouTube makeup tutorials

Such brittle laughter. It escaped as harsh barks that crumpled gradually into angry sobs, evidence of grief that would no longer tolerate being ignored. Fresh sadness met stale sadness and intermingled

"I've tried and tried, why doesn't it taste like yours, auntie?" "The secret ingredient is love. Pour your heart into it." That was a bit of a fib. The secret ingredient was sleight

The members of the jury were penguins. Every last one of them. The judge was a polar bear, the bailiff was a seal. They all looked a her like she was the worst sort of criminal and slowly began chanting,

"Wow! Your accent is gorgeous, where are you from?" Xqy~`mprw tried not to look alarmed. He knew! She'd gone through all of that training and the Earthling still guessed she was from - "Jamaica,

That evil wench. She'd done it again, it was no accident. One crutch rested upright against the wall nearest to his bed. The other lay several yards away, flat on the ground. Next she'd pretend not to

It was a good home. The mom and dad were kindhearted and generous with treats. The little boy was energetic and always up for a game of fetch. They would make some other dog very happy but Scruffy needed

"What have I done...?" He clutched his stomach in agony, cold sweating in the fetal position on the bathroom floor. He'd been lucky in the past but this time, it seemed the expiry date on that

"Hi, I'm calling about those puppies you rescued. I saw them on your Facebook page and I think I want one. What breed are they?" Andrea gritted her teeth and counted to ten while reminding herself

Everything seemed normal that day but there were signs. Perhaps her steps were a little slower or less sure but it was nothing so significant that it couldn't be ignored. Even by those who loved her most.

The balloons were grey. The glitter was silver. Her dress was grey and the clown wore a suit that ranged from charcoal to gun-metal. His makeup matched. A confused parent approached the hosts. "Um...what

"Has anybody ever told you you have a tendency to get on people's nerves? Hmm? You wear your unpleasantness with what looks like pride." The cat looked at him with casual disinterest and with

They called him 'mad'. He wore it like a badge of honor. They could mock him as much as they pleased deep down they were in awe of what he could do that the sane ones could not. He'd found the variant,

The picture frame was just slightly askew and the urge to set it straight was perhaps too powerful to resist. Of course nobody else noticed. They all seemed so content and oblivious. Who could aim for

There were more beautiful girls in the village and there were certainly boys from wealthier families. Neither of them cared. He would find a way to offer a whole herd of cattle for her hand if that's what

It wasn't exactly a pleasant voice. It was rough and almost sounded painful. The kind of voice you got from breathing toxic fumes 24/7 or gargling gravel once in a while. But the producer was a genius