“Honeymoon” – in Across the Margin
What’s a guy supposed to do when he’s been jilted a week before his wedding, and he’s already paid for a ridiculously expensive, non-refundable honeymoon cruise? If you’re Damon Rogers, a penny-pinching actuary brimming with resentment and self pity, you go on the cruise, by yourself, and hang the consequences.
Afterwards, Damon checks in with his shrink. It’s an emergency.
“Delphi, Voice From the Cloud” – in Bewildering Stories
Harold is a talented young hacker who lives in a delicate stalemate with his fundamentalist parents. When a single slip-up brings him into direct conflict with their world, they punish him according to their literal interpretation of the Bible. Now Harold is out for revenge, and his computer skills temporarily give him the upper hand. Unfortunately, he underestimates the new minister Brother Grainger, his parents’ community of true believers, and the words of the Old Testament.
“Delphi” won the 2020 Mariner Award from Bewildering Stories
“Rebecca, A Love Story” – in Silver Blade
Dave is on the outs with his ex-girlfriend, but he’s getting real-time sage advice from Rebecca, his new AI implant. Rebecca’s in beta but she does what she can to help her clueless human host. When things get out of hand, the company has no choice but to issue a recall.
“The End, Virtually” – in Bewildering Stories
Virtuality, an advanced virtual reality technology, not only relieves the physical pain of terminal patients, but it also allows them to come to terms with their fate in a way that’s limited only by their imaginations. Marjorie is the star patient, with a fantasy life that rivals a Hollywood movie.
Now if only her priggish, miserly son – who can’t even bring himself to utter the d-word – would let her go in peace.
“Baby Bear” – produced by Simply Scary Podcasts
To hear it, scroll down to #113 in the playlist. It’s been wonderfully dramatized by Chilling Tales for Dark Nights
Don has scheduled a demanding vacation for himself and his wife Marjorie – a road trip to nine national parks in fourteen days. At their first stop, Marjorie finds a teddy bear in their hotel room and begins carrying it everywhere. Don humors her – until they reach their last destination when his patience comes to a sudden end.
“Butterfly” – Published by Fiction on the Web, an ezine from the UK and one of the oldest on the web.
The story was conceived as a modern-day reversal of “Madama Butterfly“, the troublesome opera by Puccini (which inspired the latter-day musical, “Miss Saigon“). “Butterfly” is a first person account by a poor, Marxist-inclined economics student, who chronicles the love affair between his roommate Dan, also poor but a talented poet, and an ambitious South Korean socialite from a wealthy family. The question is, can the narrator get past his egalitarian prejudices and save his friend from an obsession that seems to be spiraling out of control?
“Self-Exposure” – in Pure Slush
A piece of flash fiction in their series on the Seven Deadly Sins, the “Pride” issue. Unfortunately it’s not online, but it is available in paper from their website, and from Amazon.com.
A top-rated food photographer has battled for artistic respect his entire professional life, but he only finds it when he’s forced to make a picture of an unfamiliar subject – himself.
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“Caught Between Two Loves” – in FreedomFiction
Mick Grimes has more than his share of teen troubles. He may be a good-looking, brilliant student, and own a hot car any red-blooded American boy would die for, but he’s caught between two women who have conflicting plans for his summer vacation. His French teacher wants to develop more than his academic skills, while his nefarious mother has groomed Mick to be her protege – and accomplice.
Predictably, it doesn’t end well.
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“Daddy’s Girl” – in Mystery Tribune
A dark story of awakening and revenge. Fourteen-year-old Amy gets a surprise call to babysit for the Caulfields, a wealthy Houston couple. It’s a sweet job, although Mr. Caulfield does show a disturbing interest in her. While babysitting in the Caulfield mansion, Amy gets a surprise phone call from her father, sent to prison years earlier, when she was a toddler. Amy’s mother had cut off all contact with her husband – even telling Amy he was dead. But now he’s out, and he hints that Mr. Caulfield, a lawyer, is connected with their broken family’s sad situation. When Amy finally meets up with her dad, he tells her the whole tragic story. Together, they hatch a plan for justice – but Amy wants to show her father she can do even better.
