Experiment #173
Monsters Among Us
Magical Realism Stories
Whether it's animals that talk or something that just can't happen in the real world, all of these stories contain just that bit of wonder.
Experiment #107
The Beat Up Old Plymouth
That car had come into her lane not what the police report had said, but her word didn’t sway Jimmy. And when, a few days later, little Sam didn’t wake up, she woke up the next day alone.
Things spiraled from there. Her job in the coffee shop, even with overtime couldn’t overcome the bills. The eviction notice came faster than she’d ever thought. The shame, the fear, the judgement and nary a soul to share … Read More
Experiment #98
Listen
I did not go to church
I did not read your scriptures
I did not always do what I ought
But I listened to music
I thought long and deep about beauty and truth and love,
I gave what I could,
Did what I could to help
Is there hope for me?
“Shhh, my child,” He said. “The music still plays.”
Experiment #80
The Trial
The man entered the expansive room slung between two guards. He was haggard, worn and beaten. Blood flowed from a fresh wound on his forehead, brown blood caked in his ragged beard. The guards placed him on the pedestal where he crumpled to the ground. He brought his hands up weakly to shield his eyes from the spotlights.
A rumble of anger rolled through the audience.
The magistrate stood up from his desk. He held up his … Read More
Experiment #69
All the Way to Daylight
Franklin sprinkled gasoline over a heap of papers and books. In his other hand he clutched a locket carved in the shape of a bird, or, more specifically, a phoenix.
The air split with an echoing scream. Anger, desperation, and longing wrapped together in one piercing screech.
Franklin threw down the gas can and pulled out a lighter. The otherworldly wail came again, closer.
Franklin flipped the lighter open and held it there, contemplating the fiery death he … Read More
Experiment #66
Lies Dad Told Me
The blood bank began as a bargain between humans and vampires. We give blood and the vampires don’t eat us.
Ghosts are kids who didn’t listen to their parents. They’re forced to wander the earth trying to set right that terrible wrong.
The universe is like an orange. (He didn’t elaborate beyond that)
If you don’t dry the dishes the water on them turns to poison. Do you want to drink poison?
The five second rule is a law … Read More
Experiment #57
The Dictionary of Gerald Grey: Zoological Edition
Wolverine: (n.) A wolf who drank too much pool water.
Bear: (n.) An animal who can carry or withstand a burden.
Polar Bear: (n.) An animal who can carry or withstand a burden using poles.
Tortoise: (n.) A fancy name for land turtles.
Jack Rabbit: (n.) Current President of the United Coveys of Rabbitdom (according to Dad).
Tom Cat: (n.) Vice President of the Urban Feline League (according to Dad he lost the election to Ali Cat by just nine votes, leading Dad to suspect … Read More
Experiment #54
The World Stench Competition Part 4 of 4
Back at his box my Dad pulled out all the stops and hoped the baked beans he’d eaten at lunch would come out in time. He looked upset and when I asked, he told me what happened. I was all for going straight to the judge, but we had no proof and everything would end up as his word vs ours.
When the judge came to my Dad’s box he took a good whiff. Then he … Read More
Experiment #53
The World Stench Competition Part 3 of 4
The next morning, after a breakfast that included a variety of cheeses, baked beans and garlic, the competitors headed to their stench training. Several guys went for long runs and a few went to find the skunks as well as a population of bombardier beetles, stink bugs, and great fields of stink weed that were brought in to bring nuance and refinement to the various smells each contestant brought to the island.
My Dad decided not … Read More
Experiment #52
The World Stench Competition Part 2 of 4
Bacontopia had been bought and named during another marketing stunt, this time by a food packaging company from Chicago. They eventually abandoned it for insurance reasons as the amount of bacon eaten by the average visitor was fourteen times the recommended daily limits set in place by the FDA. US law didn’t really apply there, but no insurance company was going to take that bet either. The eventual sale, however, gave the World Stench Competition … Read More
Experiment #51
The World Stench Competition Part 1 of 4
My Mom had always said my Dad was a “stinky one,” but we didn’t realize it was a talent until we saw the flier for the “World Stench Competition.”
It seems a decade or so earlier the marketing departments of a few perfume, cologne and deodorant companies had gotten together to find the world’s stinkiest person. The winner got a good scrubbing, a lifetime supply of deodorant and perfume/cologne, and a year of celebrity as the … Read More
Experiment #47
Playdate
One day my monster came to tea.
He sat down next to Mr. Bear.
Unfortunately though for me,
I had been sitting in that chair
Later on we played hide and seek
But that did not work out so well.
When he was it he’d always peak
Then say he’d found me ’cause I smell.
Leapfrog was a huge disaster
Kickball didn’t last an inning
At ping-pong he was the master
Of eating the ball (not winning)
He … Read More
Experiment #45
The Cow Upstairs
One day, while Sam was working on his homework at the kitchen table. A cow walked in the front door and went upstairs.
While Sam decided what to do about this, his teenage sister, Susan, ran out of her room. “A cow’s eating the shower curtain!” she shouted.
“The red one with the sailboats?” Sam asked.
“There’s only one shower curtain upstairs,” Susan said.
Sam jumped up from the table and ran up to help. That was his Mom’s … Read More
Experiment #43
The Dictionary of Gerald Grey: Dinosaur Edition
Neanderthal: (n.) Dad before coffee.
Homosapien: (n.) Dad after coffee.
Stinkosaurus Rex: (n.) My baby sister, Sam, in a used diaper.
Australocrazious: (adj.) Dad after he came back from a business trip to Australia and tried (and failed) to do the accent for three weeks straight.
Fossils: (n.) The stuff at the back of the fridge that’s so old you can’t remember when you originally had it for dinner.
Cretaceous: (adj.) The word Dad made up when he tried to get my friends … Read More
Experiment #40
The Dictionary Of Gerald Grey: Medical Edition
Cancer: (n.) what Janie has that makes her sick.
Bald and Beautiful: (n.) the fashion style Janie now prefers
Beep Beep: (n.) the sound of Janie’s life
Visiting Hours: (n.) the best hours of the day
Tumor: (n.) Bad
Malignant: (adj.) Worse
Metastasize: (v.) Worst
Crying hours: (n.) the ones after Visiting Hours
Bed surfing: (v.) what Janie does to let the nurses know she cares
Hospital: (n.) Janie’s new home for a while
Oncologist: (n.) the lady who knows the bad, the worse, and the … Read More