#microfiction
“We didn’t know why we started climbing onto rooftops, but it worked. Most of the concerns of modern life got stuck inside the buildings, and couldn’t reach us up above. We created a new life up there, one of sunsets, lawn chairs, and coolers, while the fickle world rotted below.”
-QuietPineTrees
Are you tired of the modern world? You can pledge to support the Quiet Pine Trees book, and get a treat from a bygone era: postcards, sent to you every month, with exclusive typewritten microfictions by yours truly. And for once, this old-fashioned option gets you faster results. The book will take time to print, but I’ll start sending out postcards before he end of the year. Check it out!
“In our isolated culture, we turned to face paint to express ourselves, eventually developing complex heraldic codes. It became essential to know the difference between cobalt blue, symbolizing a love of cryptozoology, and midnight blue, symbolizing that the wearer wrote poetry.”
-QuietPineTrees
There’s a lot more to this story, and you can see it all, but only if you get the new Quiet Pine Trees book! Pledge now to help make it a reality, and you’ll get an exclusive hardback edition you won’t be able to get later! I can even sign it for you!
“Blueberry: Sweet blue pome high in antioxidants
Blackberry: Bittersweet aggregate fruit full of phytochemicals
Clearberry: Smoky-sweet drupe rich in antigravitons, used for short-term weight loss
Grayberry: Tart true berry full of the memories of those who once trod these fields”
-QuietPineTrees
Plants hold many secrets, not always plain to modern, casual observers. I’ve collected all my notes on weird horticulture in my new book! Pledge now for a copy signed by my own human hands!
“Dear world,
The Snapchat user interface is legitimately terrible. If you want to send me a message or funny photo, just text me.
Don’t worry, it’s safe. The ghost in their logo isn’t real. It can’t hurt you, or seek revenge for your plebeian communication choices.
Thank you,
TR”
-QuietPineTrees
This story isn’t fiction. It’s basically a PSA, trying to ease your fear of the Snapchat Ghost. That being said, if you want to know the secrets of ghosts on the seashore, whispers in space, and dark shapes in the sky, consider pledging to my new book! It has all my best tweets since January of 2015, and tons of exclusive content you can’t get anywhere else! Plus, the publisher assured me that most of the copies aren’t haunted!
“The Room: Unhelpful”
First Story:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/658898716053340160/ekphrastic-fiction-contest-august-2021
Second Story:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/661773932525977600/the-room-guest-first-story
“Lady Gwenlyn asked me to pick up—“
The man on the right tilted his head. “A file? Or an artifact?”
His smile betrayed distrust. Not that Jonas could have blamed him. Being an Archivist meant safeguarding the Family’s secrets.
And the Family’s secrets could bring entire universes to rubble.
Jonas blinked, then coughed into a hand. “A… a file.”
The man on the left got up from his seat. “Which one?”
Sweat beads slid. Jonas never enjoyed this part of the job, interacting with the Helpers.
Everything about them made him uneasy. There was just something about the way they blinked, often too slow, or how they would stand in corners, facing corners. Like they’d gotten stuck in a loop.
“Uh. Um. I’m not sure. She didn’t tell me the AIN.”
For a fraction of a second, Righty’s smile faltered.
Ice replaced bland heat. Friendliness revealed disgust.
As if he could see his sins.
“B-but it does involve an adjacent world!”
“What kind?”
Jonas slammed his head on the countertop.
When he lifted it, everything was tinted red.
“What do you mean, ‘what kind’?!”
Lefty blinked. One eye at a time.
“What kind of adjacent world? A Waste? Or a Lively? Or a—“
“Look. She didn’t tell me. All she said was… and I quote, ‘get me the file for—“
“Please do not interrupt.”
The sound of Lefty’s voice froze Jonas. It was twinged mechanical. The mask had slipped further away.
“A… A reflection. Similarity grade unknown.”
Righty’s eyes went blank.
“We can’t help you if you don’t tell us—“
“For goodness sake! Cri—“
“Crimavel? Crim Mia? Crivical? Crimsonport? Cyc?”
Jonas slammed his fist on the countertop.
The sound echoed through the lobby. A woman gasped, and he suddenly felt very foolish.
Very foolish indeed.
“CRIMSONPORT! CRIMSONPORT!”
Very, very foolish.
Another great installment by @evanthenerd83 I love how this writer continually builds on previous pieces.
Hi, everyone!
Chapters 42-57 of “A Collection of Longing” have been posted.
This is a collection of tweet-length works based on prompts from @ReyloMicrofics on twitter. Let’s see if I can make you feel anything, one tweet at a time.
“Propaganda”
Believe all you see. Trust your eyes, ears, lying mouths. Ignore that which is born from others. Choose the side helping only you. Burn the honest.
Want More:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/672378544397172736/2022-story-index-flash-fiction-a-divine
“Slaughterhouse”
Some days brought escapes. Holes in pins. Men lying on the scarlet floor, bleeding. Vans being parked outside. Most left him with complaints to burn. But others simply made him long for a quick, somniferous bolt.
Want More:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/672378544397172736/2022-story-index-flash-fiction-a-divine
“Connection”
Through her eyes, I saw it. It. That which I lacked. What I was denied. The jigsaw piece. The clue. The key to repair. I finally saw the light, and felt the warmth. Knew others. A loving home. Coddling mother. Present father. Then she looked away.
Want More:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/672378544397172736/2022-story-index-flash-fiction-a-divine
“Young Child’s Word Association”
Taught. Scolded. Educated. Chastised. Helped. Disciplined. Tutored. Corrected. Enlightened. Punished. Illuminated. Illuminated. Enlightened. Light. Lit. Lit on. Lit. Bright.
Want More:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/672378544397172736/2022-story-index-flash-fiction-a-divine
“Prey”
Birds are chirping. I can hear them in the bushes. Up in the trees. This causes my leg much irritation, and it groans again. It does no favors for my open head, either. Vessels wrinkle. Blood flows more freely. But the worst part about all this is that some birds aren’t even chirping. Some are simply watching. Some are just waiting.
Want More:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/672378544397172736/2022-story-index-flash-fiction-a-divine
“The Act,” my next flash fiction collection!
20 pieces, each only a paragraph long!
Tales of psychological fiction and horror.
On Wattpad!
Act One begins June 13, 2022.
Act Two begins July 4, 2022.
“The Act”
Pain. Suffering. The act of bleeding. Crying for one’s salvation. For something else to come. The delusion of prayer. Hope. Struggle. Hatred being exposed by love. Unrequited.
Want More:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/672378544397172736/2022-story-index-flash-fiction-a-divine
“Vector”
A cough. Just a little cough, from somewhere, anywhere, in the dark. Anyone could have made it. Everyone knows that. It echoes. It lasts. So does the fear. Someone whimpers, then breaks, spilling themselves all over. Sobbing. Pleading. So do the gunshots.
Want More: https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/672378544397172736/2022-story-index-flash-fiction-a-divine
“Black And White”
The little boy has lost sight of his mother. One moment, she was holding his hand. Now she isn’t. Nobody is. The little boy cries, but no one holds him, comforts him, feeds him. Leads him. The mall has gone completely gray, like a misplaced photo.
Want More:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/672378544397172736/2022-story-index-flash-fiction-a-divine
“At The Bottom Of The Deep, Dark World”
Footsteps. Daniel can hear them from all around. He can’t see who’s making them. But he can tell. Heavy feet. In heavy boots. Boots being scraped against metal. They echo, orbit his head. They fill the inside of his diving helmet.
Want More:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/672378544397172736/2022-story-index-flash-fiction-a-divine
“Hole”
Lorien knew of the hole in her wall. It was right there. Not hidden, but beside her bed. It went deep. And it was dark, darker than the underside of her skin, deeper than the pits in her stomach. She could barely see what lay on the other side, what knew of the hole in itswall.
Want More:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/672378544397172736/2022-story-index-flash-fiction-a-divine
“Routine”
Our child danced. She’d wear the cutest little dress you ever did see, a pink number. With a pink bow. She would slip on those tiny black shoes. Ballerina shoes. And we—my wife Gladys and I—we would clap along to her steps. One, two, three, one, two, three. It was mighty difficult, of course. What with us having to pull her strings.
Want More:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/672378544397172736/2022-story-index-flash-fiction-a-divine
“The Absence”
Her mouth was never found.
Imagine the coroner’s shock when he saw her face. Everything was there, in place. Where God had intended.
Eyes above her nose. Ears on either side.
Nose over… Well, when he got a good, long, hard look at the, uh, absence, his own face went paler than quartz. He legit screamed. We let him.
The least we could do.
Want More:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/672378544397172736/2022-story-index-flash-fiction-a-divine
“Ambiance”
The scream comes from nowhere yet everywhere.
Loud. Shrill. It cuts the ear like glass.
It belongs to a little girl. Or an old man. Nobody can tell. Some say a dog must’ve got caught in a bear trap.
It never fades.
Want More:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/672378544397172736/2022-story-index-flash-fiction-a-divine
“Email #10— Tests”
BioSys Solutions
Email Correspondence Server
October 6, 2020— 11:00 PM
FROM: Sam Pierce <[email protected]>
TO: Unregistered Group Server (UNSECURED)
SUBJECT:Tests
Testing antivirals for agents rated L4 and above is allowed, right? I was planning on injecting the HABA with EX-Chrim tomorrow. Location of said injection would preferably be the central nerve, and I’d start the procedure at 3:00 PM.
Sam Pierce
Junior Researcher
“My Own Vice”
Less is more. That’s what I always say. No need to spend precious time and energy on performing. Impressing people wastes valuable resources. Why overindulge when you can abstain? Why spoil everything if you can share the meaning? Why leave behind a mess? I just hope they understand. Her head should be obvious enough.
Want More:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/672378544397172736/2022-story-index-flash-fiction-a-divine
“Neighborhood”
Opened spaces in every home. Closed spaces outside. Doors to look out of. Windows that are stepped through. We watch as things blink and wink. Things plan as we deny and lie. Vans sitting idly on sidewalks, their wheels tinted. Mothers sucking dry air. Babies leaking. Fetuses preserved by beer bottles. Beer churning inside wombs. A mailbox to eviscerate.
Want More:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/672378544397172736/2022-story-index-flash-fiction-a-divine
“Surveillance”
The eyes watch. They never blink, whether from exhaustion or glaring sunlight. Sleep is unnecessary. These eyes are sharp, clever. A rat could scurry between the slim, slender gaps of a sewer grate, fur dark as night, indistinct, and they’d still see.
They do see. They take notice. Each movement is captured. Every twitch becomes a mark.
Want More:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/672378544397172736/2022-story-index-flash-fiction-a-divine
“Paranoia”
They all know. Are always together. A whole. As one rotting corpse. One looks my way, with eyes dark like moon glass, head hollow. Another clamps a hand over plastic lips. Painted fingernails drip scarlet. Drip blue. The hyenas call.
Want More:https://evanthenerd83.tumblr.com/post/672378544397172736/2022-story-index-flash-fiction-a-divine
“Email #9— Word”
BioSys Solutions
Email Correspondence Server
October 7, 2020— 11:11 AM
FROM: Anne Smith <[email protected]>
TO: Unregistered Group Server (UNSECURED)
SUBJECT: Correct word usage
Hi everyone.
A quick reminder: please do not refer to the HABA as anything other than “the HABA.”
As an alternative, you may use the following terms:
The Structure
The Anomaly
The House
Off-limit words include:
Monster
Abomination
The Entity
Flesh Pit (this is just wrong, the HABA is not a pit)
Wound
I’m not being pedantic.
Using these phrases could trigger an adverse reaction in your coworkers.
Thank you for understanding!
Anne Smith
Human Resources
