tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23615349854479265202024-03-13T21:21:37.965-07:00MINI FICTION100-word storiesPat Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07029664976723092097noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2361534985447926520.post-83221151456708922572010-10-10T18:49:00.000-07:002010-10-10T16:00:37.486-07:00The Kiss<div>When Jack entered her flower shop, all Jen could do was stare. It had been years since she’d seen him, years she’d spent regretting their final quarrel, yet she still felt the same attraction. His heavy-lidded gaze told her he felt it, too.</div><br /><div><br />He held out a hand, and she let him draw her close for a kiss that spanned the years. She snuggled into his embrace. Everything would be perfect now that they were together again.</div><br /><div><br />“How did you know I was here?” she asked.</div><br /><div><br />“I didn’t. I just came in to buy flowers.”</div><br /><div><br />“For me?”</div><br /><div><br />“For my wife.”</div>Pat Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07029664976723092097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2361534985447926520.post-62612991390261633882009-07-25T18:46:00.000-07:002009-07-26T22:04:46.421-07:00Jesus WeptJesus watched over the anesthetized girl. The operation to restore her sight was a delicate one, and the surgeon needed his help.<br /><br />When Jesus felt the familiar tug of people praying, He tried to ignore it, but He’d promised to be wherever two or three were gathered in His name, and this time there were thousands.<br /><br />With an agonized glance at the little girl, Jesus left the operating room.<br /><br />-----<br /><br />Rocking her sightless child, the mother cried, “Why, Jesus? Why?”<br /><br />Jesus wept but remained silent, unwilling to tell her He’d been called away by thousands of people praying for a touchdown.Pat Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07029664976723092097noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2361534985447926520.post-4809249929776743602009-04-04T17:55:00.000-07:002009-05-17T09:09:26.786-07:00The Defendant<p>The defendant appeared to be praying.</p><p>Her lawyer glanced at the jury; they didn’t seem swayed by her pose of innocence.</p><p>“Did you kill him?” he asked his client.</p><p>She bowed her head. “No.”</p><p>“Isn’t it true that you had sex with him before he disappeared?”</p><p>“Yes, but he left afterward, and I never saw him again. Maybe he mated with someone else.”</p><p>The prosecuting attorney rose. “Objection.”</p><p>“Sustained,” the judge said “Just answer the question. Did you kill him?”</p><p>“No. He was young and healthy and strong.” The mantis gave the judge an apologetic look. “So he got away.”</p>Pat Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07029664976723092097noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2361534985447926520.post-47043212327498886612009-02-02T18:44:00.000-08:002009-03-09T10:27:32.358-07:00PermissionCuddling her baby, Cassie went to answer the door.<br /><br />Anna, eyes bright beneath hooded lids, smiled at her. “I came to see my newest neighbor.” She bent forward and peered into the baby’s face. “Oooh, he’s so sweet I could just eat him up.” She held out her arms. “May I?”<br /><br />Pride welled up in Cassie’s chest. “Sure.”<br /><br />With a sudden sinuous motion, Anna took the baby, popped him in her mouth, and swallowed him whole.<br /><br />Unable even to scream, Cassie stared at the bulge in the woman’s midsection.<br /><br />“What?” Anna gave her a puzzled look. “You said I could.”Pat Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07029664976723092097noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2361534985447926520.post-22035419399957618742009-02-02T18:43:00.001-08:002009-02-19T21:41:23.783-08:00ColorizedThe drab little man in the gray suit entered the bar at five o’clock as usual, huddled on the same bar stool he always did, and waited to order his usual martini.<br /><br />An almost pretty woman perched on the next stool smiled at him as if they were going to be good friends. Then a fellow wearing a loud shirt approached and handed her a rose. As she got up to follow him, a single petal fluttered to the floor.<br /><br />“Your usual?” the bartender asked.<br /><br />The man glanced at the rose petal, straightened his shoulders. “I’ll have red wine today.”Pat Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07029664976723092097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2361534985447926520.post-9385693247354419442009-02-02T18:40:00.000-08:002009-02-02T18:41:57.105-08:00A Drop of HoneyA drop of honey formed on the vaulted ceiling.<br /><br />He strained against his bonds. How much more could he take? The drop slammed into his forehead with all the force of a sledgehammer.<br /><br />Through his pain, he heard a loud drone. He turned his head.<br /><br />Two feet away, the yellow-jacketed silhouette of McQueen stared at him, immobile except for her rapidly beating wings. “If you had not meddled, you would not be in this sticky situation. Tell me who hired you.”<br /><br />“None of your beeswax.” The words scraped his throat.<br /><br />“Tell me,” McQueen demanded.<br /><br />The honey began its downward journey.Pat Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07029664976723092097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2361534985447926520.post-69083885367294548622009-01-11T11:30:00.000-08:002009-01-11T11:32:07.146-08:00The Perfect Wife“Are you coming right home after work?” Gina asked.<br /><br />“Yes. Why?”<br /><br />She gave him a sultry look. “I have a surprise for you.”<br /><br />Bob’s heart beat faster, wondering what delight she had in store for him this time.<br /><br />He finished his breakfast, rose from the table, and kissed her. Her lips were warm and full of promise. He ran his fingers through her hair, then pressed the button at the back of her skull. She went still.<br /><br />“Bye, Sweetheart,” he said. He paused at the door and looked back. “I can hardly wait to get home and turn you on.”Pat Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07029664976723092097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2361534985447926520.post-84321462146076987142008-12-07T10:20:00.000-08:002008-12-07T10:21:10.186-08:00The LocketEffie felt like the last woman left alive, and maybe she was -- she hadn’t seen another soul since the blizzard began. It had been screaming outside the cabin for more than a month, and all that remained in her larder were a cup of flour and a pinch of yeast, enough to make a small loaf of French bread.<br /><br />She raised her fingers to her throat and closed them around the locket containing an old photograph of her beloved Jake, who had died in a long ago war before they could wed.<br /><br />“Soon,” she whispered. “We’ll be together soon.”Pat Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07029664976723092097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2361534985447926520.post-54641689000317925812008-12-04T21:04:00.000-08:002008-12-04T23:16:24.114-08:00PromisesTheir gazes met across a crowded room and, just like that, they tumbled into love. A prince, he made her feel like a queen.<br /><br />"Why now?" she wondered. "Why not last month before my wedding?" She hadn't believed in true love, thinking it fairy tale stuff, so she'd vowed to honor and cherish a kind and gentle man, a dear friend.<br /><br />"Will you come away with me?" the prince asked. "For a weekend, a year, an eternity?"<br /><br />She twisted the gold band around her finger, her heart breaking.<br /><br />"I love you. I always will. But I have promises to keep."Pat Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07029664976723092097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2361534985447926520.post-66474607154226359222008-12-03T18:31:00.000-08:002008-12-03T18:33:55.298-08:00FulfillmentHe was born with a hunger he could not explain. It frightened him, this not knowing, because if he did not know what the hunger was, how could he ever satisfy it?<br /><br />As he grew to manhood, the hunger grew also. Sometimes it seemed as if it were devouring him; no matter what he ate, he remained gaunt. Only during sex could he forget the hunger.<br /><br />One day while kissing his girlfriend, he accidentally drew blood. And suddenly it all made sense.<br /><br />With a happy sigh, he sunk his teeth in the neck of the struggling girl.<br /><br />And found fulfillment.Pat Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07029664976723092097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2361534985447926520.post-19237066040587706942008-12-03T18:30:00.000-08:002008-12-03T18:31:14.975-08:00The RingHeather’s eyes grew round as she stared at the sparkling diamond in the ring Dexter had just given her.<br /><br />All her friends had laughed at her for going out with him. He was older than her father and had even less hair, but she always knew it would pay off in the end.<br /><br />And now she had the ring.<br /><br />“That’s bad,” she said, trying to sound cool and sophisticated.<br /><br />“It is?” Dexter grabbed the ring from her, peered at it, then tossed it away. “That no-good, lying salesman! He promised me no one could tell it from the real thing.”Pat Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07029664976723092097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2361534985447926520.post-1929859626661051622008-12-03T18:22:00.000-08:002008-12-03T18:24:12.581-08:00Death RowTom milled around the prison yard with the other inmates, waiting for the sound of death. There would be no stay of execution for their condemned mate, who would die in a most barbaric way.<br /><br />“They don’t care that he’s innocent,” Tom said. “As are we all. The system is guilty, but no one wants to buck tradition.”<br /><br />The thud of the axe made him flinch. He bowed his head out of respect for the dead.<br /><br />In the silence, he heard the executioner’s voice drifting through the chicken wire fence. “It’s a big turkey. We’ll have a grand Thanksgiving feast.”Pat Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07029664976723092097noreply@blogger.com0