Dumbing Down

by Kevin White
97 words


Maria watched her daughter chew on the triangle shaped aiglet as she gazed intently at the aquarium fish. At least she wasn't sucking her thumb, Maria thought. Still, the yellow-orange, wulfenite sometimes broke off and Maria wasn't positive her daughter hadn't swallowed some.

Years later, after countless doctors and even resorting to a West Indies shaman who practiced Obeah, Maria despaired that her daughter's mental deficiencies stemmed from this. A few misaligned teeth would not have kept her from being a doctor, engineer or even an Ichthyologist, but small amounts of lead ingested over time certainly would.




Kevin lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and three German Shepherds. His work has been seen in PenPricks, and next month will be in 55 Words. A link to more of his work can be found here: Horrificmusings.com

Natural Selection

by Kevin White
54 words

Under a steel-blue, morning sky the air is crisp and cold like a fresh, green apple.

Tiny feet scamper across twigs and frost bitten leaves as birds sit silently in the trees like sprinters waiting for the starter's gun. Hunters stalk warm blood out of season but park rangers will not check for permits.

Kevin lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and three German Shepherds. Links to more of his work can be found here: Horrificmusings.com