All Stories, Literally Reruns, Short Fiction

Christmas Rerun – Black and White Christmas by T L Tomljanovic

Tatiana Tomljanovic takes a look at Christmas through the eyes of a child and scores in our Fifth Rerun of Christmas. And yet these perceptions are both childlike and cynical. Even the “Christmas Miracle” can take Isla away from the funny smell in her grandparent’s house–that and her belief that God was the thing you say when you don’t know what to say.

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All Stories, Literally Reruns, Short Fiction

Christmas Rerun – The Real Bad Snowman by David Henson

Today’s Rerun is brought to you by the darkside of life. It ain’t aimable Frosty awaiting these children, but during this season it would be an error to omit the truth about the many lives around us in which misery is pretty much a full time experience. David Henson has a way of injecting some light into the darkest of places, which should be a quality found in Christmas.

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All Stories, Literally Reruns, Short Fiction

Bonus Christmas Rerun – The Perfect Personification of Religion by Hugh Cron

Since it is Christmas Day itself, we add a bonus story by our own Hugh Cron. It is not our object to deride those who have faith or get sentimental about the holiday. And Hugh’s The Perfect Personification of Religion states the true meaning of Christmas better than a fleet of Rudolphs. It is a tale of common decency and a priest who made himself holy through his dedication.

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Literally Reruns, Short Fiction

Christmas Rerun – A Little Red Wagon, A Long Remembered Face by Tom Sheehan

Merry Christmas, even to the humbuggers. Today we present two in a series we call the Reruns of Christmas. James McEwan began this party yesterday, which will last through Sunday. And there will be no rest for the wicked because the new year begins with new stories next Monday.

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Literally Reruns, Short Fiction

Christmas Eve Rerun: The Lady in the Bauble by James McEwan

Merry Christmas Eve. And as foretold in yesterday’s post there will be Ghosts of Reruns past attending the site this week. Consider this very early site post by our friend James McEwan, a herald, who will lead off with this Rerun today, the first of nine replays over the next eight days. Enjoy!

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Editor Picks, General Fiction, Humour, Short Fiction

Week 460: Terminating The Tree With Extreme Prejudice and Welcome to the Holiday Rerun Fest

Fang and Rags circa 1972

Well here we are, Christmas. Today I choose to remember it well. My family used to include a Dachshund-Chihuahua mix named “Fang” who joined the team when I was in sixth grade (named after Phyllis Diller’s fictional husband). Fang was a fairly peaceful little guy but he hated Christmas trees. Every year he would attack the damn thing late at night at least once. His partner in crime “Rags,” a tiny Rat Terrier, would encourage Fang with little barks, but feign innocence when the light came on.

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All Stories, General Fiction

Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress by Ximena Escobar

Warm tones hit the mahogany bed posts, struck by the sudden light entering the room. The French door moaned as the veil curtain swelled, and a leaf spiralled onto the crochet bed cover, the terracotta tiles, the dresser table.

Frida held a deep breath, albeit restrained inside the cast, until her ribs complained. As if she could capture the light within her lungs, the gap of blue that she envisioned open in the sky. Something inside her had changed; the narrowest ray of light had filtered through the fill of her darkness.

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All Stories, General Fiction

It’s Never Too Late by Tim Love

With most first dates, I knew within seconds that we wouldn’t meet again. I didn’t feel that with Janet. Except for a few wrinkles, she could have been years younger than me. Maybe her eyes were too far apart and her mouth too narrow, but when she smiled all her features worked together. That said, getting her to smile was a challenge. We exchanged questions about each other, learning nothing more than in our online profiles. I couldn’t help studying her again as she walked to the toilet – her bright floral dress showed off her figure (was she rolling her hips?)  and her long hair was jet-black. Waiting for her to come back, I decided to raise the topic that the dating site matched us up with.

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All Stories, General Fiction

Tea for Two by Rachel Sievers

The door opens, the day is warm and the sun is already rising burning off the last wisps of fog. The child moves over the threshold holding a tortilla she found in the pantry. Last week the food bank handed out tortillas and she had filled her backpack full of them. Tortillas were good with anything from beans to peanut butter. This morning it was plain but she did want to wake any of the guests from last night, still asleep on the floor. 

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All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller

Goomba Columbus by Lenny Levine

Yo, Skeevy! C’mere!

Skeevy!

Whatta you starin’ at me? You don’t like it when I call ya that in front of that skank you’re hittin’ on? (’Scuse me, honey, no offense.) Better I should call you Sir Vincent Schiavoni, your Royal Friggin’ Lordship? Get your ass over here, okay?

There you go. What’s ’a matter, you ain’t got time for your Uncle Sal no more? C’mon over to the end of the bar so we can talk.

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