Greg Gillis

“The Secret Life of Mister Moffat” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #109

           The Moffat family seemed like an average American family with two children and a dog. They lived in a small suburban town called Fairview on Mainstream Road in a split-level home with beautiful marigolds bordering the front wall in front of a large bay window.            Sitting inside on the window ledge, were Steven and Rachel; two rambunctious pre-teens with limitless energy. They waited anxiously for their father to re...

16 likes 6 comments 6

Read story

“The House That Dad Built” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #108

           It was going to be a fresh start for our family. My parents had been scrimping and saving every penny for the last five years just so they could buy a piece of land in the country.            For as far back as I can remember, which is only the fifteen years of my life, we moved every few months from one dingy apartment to the next. It was the only life I knew. So, when my parents took my little sister, Jackie, and I on a ...

16 likes 3 comments 3

Read story

“Old Man Barnsworth” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #106

           Tonya, a very skilled nurse specializing in geriatric care, was assigned to a patient by the name of Frederick Barnsworth. Mister Barnsworth went through nurses like most people go through a jug of milk.            He had a reputation for being a cynical old man that hated life and anyone in it, and he was not afraid to express himself. The last nurse ran out of his home crying frantically after the horrid treatment she ha...

16 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Through The Eyes of a Stranger” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #105

           William had been driving home from a friend’s cottage after celebrating his twenty-first birthday weekend. The whole weekend had been filled with drinking, dancing, and more drinking. His blue eyes were surrounded by red veins. He was still inebriated when he got behind the wheel on Sunday evening, but insisted to his friends that he was fine to drive. He wasn’t.            William was heading along a winding path on Hende...

20 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Restless and Relaxation” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #104

           It was Friday night, and Bobby just finished a twelve-hour shift after a very hectic week of work.            Creedence Clearwater Revival’s, “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” played on the stereo as he cracked open a chilled bottle of Michelob Ultra, sat in his wingback chair, and stretched his feet out across the wicker ottoman. This was the first time in weeks that Bobby was going to have the whole weekend to do nothing but re...

17 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“The Photograph” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #103

           Chelsea sat upon a dust-covered raggedy old wooden chair that had been in storage in her childhood home’s attic for more than twenty years. Cobwebs were scattered about the rafters and the stench of stale air pierced her nasal cavity.            It had been three weeks since her mother passed away, and it was Chelsea’s duty to sort through her belongings and decide what was worth holding onto before the house was sold. &nb...

19 likes 5 comments 5

Read story

“The Castaways” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #102

           It has been more than thirty years, but looking back, it feels like only yesterday.            It all began back in the late 1980s. It was my graduating year at Madison High School, and I had a feeling that it was going to be “my year”.            Growing up, I was known as the loner, the geek, the outcast, and the nobody. Those who did not know me, turned their noses ...

15 likes 2 comments 2

Read story

“The Other Guy” by Greg Gillis

           My story begins when I was just a young boy. It was my twelfth birthday, and all my friends were there for my party. In other words, my mom and dad, Aunt Wendy and Uncle Jack, Grandma Josephine, and my best friend, Buck.            My name is Frederick Goldstein, and yes, I was known as a loner. I guess this was caused by my insecurities. I lived my life in the shadows most of the time and spent a lot of time amusing mysel...

5 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Dinner Disaster” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #100

           Sometimes, fate has a twisted way of bringing people together. Such was the case for a couple that I know.            My best friend, Ron, spent most of his teens and early twenties dating girls that he would meet randomly in shopping malls, the gym, and even at weddings. In fact, that is where he met Jessica.            It was our friend, Chase’s wedding. He was part ...

22 likes 4 comments 4

Read story

“How I spent My Summer Vacation” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #99

           It seems like an eternity ago, but it was more like ten years. I was in sixth grade, and my teacher, Mrs. Feldman strutted around the classroom wearing her two-tone green knit sweater and a brown corduroy skirt that seemed to be stretched to its seams around her enormous bottom.            Mrs. Feldman was trying to get the attention of the class, but we were all too pumped with excitement. It was the last day of school be...

32 likes 2 comments 2

Read story

“Lucky Charms” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #98

           Harold Killarney grew up in a shady part of town where thieves roamed the night, and the police were as crooked as the politicians.            Harold’s father could not keep a steady job, and his mother tried to make ends meet by washing clothes for other families in the neighbourhood while taking care of Harold and his two younger siblings, Jesse, and Dorothy, (Dot for short).        &nb...

31 likes 8 comments 8

Read story

“The Eyes” by Greg Gillis

           It is said that the eyes are the windows to a person’s soul. Literally, this means that you can recognize certain characteristics about a person by staring into their eyes. As true as this may be, Steven was about to find out that there is more to this phrase than what he realized.            It all began a few days ago. Steven Parker, a paramedic with Capitol City Ambulance Services, had stopped at his favorite coffee hou...

5 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“A Stranger in Paradise” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #96

           An attractive blonde woman in her early twenties limped along a gravel road. Her hair was disheveled, and her clothes appeared filthy from the swirling gusts of wind the followed her path like demonic phantoms circling in wait of her demise.            Up ahead, she noticed a blue sign riddled with holes from what seemed to be shotgun blasts. The faded white letters on the sign read, “Welcome to Paradise. Population 985” &...

19 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Choices” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #95

           As she stood in front of the two red doors, Samantha was faced with a choice.            She was told that one door would lead her to a life free from worry, but it would be a longer path and her road may be rough at times. The other door would be an easier route, but the outcome may not be as satisfying. The choice was hers to make.            *** Earlier that day: &n...

19 likes 4 comments 4

Read story

“Work Gets In The Way” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #94

           Tempers flared inside the Harrison household. Between the shoes and other inanimate objects that went hurling across the room, words of distrust and hatred bellowed from the mouth of Iris, a woman scorned and betrayed by her husband, Gus.            Gus and Iris had been married for twenty-three years. Not all those years were bad, however. Their marriage had been a blissful one for the first twenty years or so, but then t...

15 likes 0 comments 0

Read story