Welcome to this week’s installment of many micro stories, ranging in length from 100 words to 500 words.
With each story we hope to deliver a little whimsy into the lives of our readers.
REM
He’s dead.
How do I know? It’s obvious.
The taut skin covering his face is ash gray, stands out against the whiteness of the pillow. His mouth is slightly open, but no breath comes from between his dry lips. His frail chest does not rise or fall.
If I pressed my fingers against his wrist, I wouldn’t feel a pulse. No fog would settle on the mirror held to his nostrils.
Despite all of this, under tightly closed eyelids, his eyes are making rapid movements.
As I straighten his sheets, I wonder if he ever dreams about me.
Jacek Wilkos is an engineer from Poland. He lives with his wife and two daughters in a beautiful city of Cracow. He is addicted to buying books, he loves black coffee, dark ambient music and anything that’s spooky. First he published his fiction in Polish online magazines, but in 2019 he started to translate his writing to English, and so far it was published in numerous anthologies by Black Hare Press, Black Ink Fiction, Alien Buddha Press, Eerie River Publishing, Insignia Stories, Reanimated Writers Press, Iron Faerie Publishing, KJK publishing, Wicked Shadow Press, CultureCult, Clarendon House Publications.
If you enjoyed this drabble you can find it and more in the Hawthorn & Ash 2023 anthology.
Iron Faerie Publishing 