Hans B

“An Unexpected Customer ” by Hans B

Let me set the scene. A drab day with a cloud covered sky. A light misty rain fills the air, the kind that makes any umbrella useless. The shifting winds push and pull the air back and forth making everything wet. There is no escaping the damp. A soggy weary traveler makes their way down the narrow street, desperately looking for shelter from the miserable weather. The towering brick walls of the surrounding buildings only exacerbate the rain every time it changes direction. They pull the collar of their coat up higher and tighter, to n...

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“Another Ordinary Day ” by Hans B

Pain. A simple concept, yet sometimes debilitating. The kind that is hard to manage is the kind with no source. No exact spot to point at and say it hurts here or it hurts when I do this. Sometimes everything just hurts, the weight of the world on your shoulders. The name is Sargent William Augustus and today there was going to be a lot of pain. Another day on patrol in the Bad Lands, very plain, very ordinary. The Major didn’t care how far we walked or how hot it was, he just wanted it done so he could scratch it off his “to do” list. The o...

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“One Night” by Hans B

Submitted to Contest #105

Bright lights and the buzz of the city nightlife, she loved it, not to be a part of it but simply to watch. She had a keen eye for detail and from the view on her apartment balcony high above the city she always had a lot to take in. The fun part was filling in all the unknowns. She didn’t know who she was watching or the relationships of those around them. She made it up, just for fun, no one will know. There was always so much street noise and the conversations were near impossible to pick up. She read most of what she saw from body langua...

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“Dining At Anducci's” by Hans B

Submitted to Contest #100

Blood dripped from the table onto the floor. The pool increased with every drop. The pool began to trickle following the pale grout lines of the light tan tiled floor. It outlined each square as it traveled. The slumped body was half sitting on an antique wooden chair at the end of the table. The air was thick with the smell of iron that didn’t move from the dead breeze. The flies would soon come and fill the air with their constant buzz. Except when they landed to dine and lay their eggs. The room was hot and the blood didn’t travel far bef...

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“Our Electric Sky” by Hans B

Submitted to Contest #99

The sunrise was always beautiful. A hue of rainbows reaching out across the sky. It was going to be a good day. This world wasn’t much different than the distant earth. The time between day and night is what made it so spectacular. Dawn and dusk were not mere moments in time, they could last for hours and hours. Our days and nights were much longer, lasting forty six hours in total. Mining was the main industry on this planet. Being underground didn’t make much difference in the winter. It was dark when you started and dark when you finished...

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“A Beautiful Smile ” by Hans B

Submitted to Contest #98

This time of year was never fun. It is just a constant reminder of how everything has changed and there is no going back. The cold crisp air would burn my lungs with every breath. The clear blue sky showed no signs of clouds, yet the air was filled with falling frost. These extreme temperatures freeze the little humidity there is in the atmosphere. Any small breeze cuts through the smallest opening in your clothing. Exposed skin can freeze in minutes. Moving water becomes solid on the surface, but it still moves underneath. This moving water...

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“Choose” by Hans B

Submitted to Contest #96

The wind howled and the old wooden shutters banged against the house. "I should have fastened them but it is too late now. I wasn’t about to go out there and get drenched to avoid a bit of extra noise. They will be fine, they have seen far worse. Now that new leak that developed in the bedroom is another matter. I didn’t know if I would be able to sleep with a slow steady drip into a pail. I just shut the door and found another room to spend the night. First thing tomorrow I hope to find that leak and patch it, once the rain lets up. This...

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“Not Today” by Hans B

Submitted to Contest #97

She walked to grab her daily ritual from the local coffee shop. It worked for her, she liked routine. Predictable, consistent, and no surprises. She walked the same way every day. Some might call it mundane, boring even, but that is what she liked. She knew it would take ten minutes to the coffee shop, her drink would be waiting and another five minutes to her office. She would always be the first to arrive, and that would give her time to quickly browse her emails and drink her perfect beverage, still at the ideal temperature. Today wa...

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“Watching the Sunrise” by Hans B

Submitted to Contest #51

He sat in his well worn armchair and stared out the window. His feet found the indents on the carpet that perfectly fit his slippers. His view was of an open field drifting off to the trees and mountains in the distance. The day began as it always did. A cup of coffee, soft jazz playing in the background and watching the sun as it peaked up from the horizon. This morning, the sun had little time to shine its rays. Grey clouds blanketed the sky casting shadows across the field, bringing a drab mist. It had been a lifetime of trying to forget....

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“One Year” by Hans B

Submitted to Contest #49

The year is 2421. It has been one hundred years since the great war. It has taken this long for civilization to rebuild itself. The Event started small and scattered, but was growing in popularity. War being a distant memory and illegal now, the Event gave a new focus for the world. This would mark the twenty fifth year of the official opening. There was always something strange and electric in the air about this time of year. The anticipation is overwhelming and emotions run high.The tension is tangible. So thick you could cut it with a kni...

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“Emily” by Hans B

Submitted to Contest #48

Emily understood she was different from everyone else. She had something that made her special. She saw the world through different eyes. Time for her ran at a much faster rate; everything and everyone was in slow motion. From when she was little, she learned to observe and taught herself how to anticipate outcomes before they happened. Her parents never knew about it until she was older.  Her father was teaching her to catch when she was three; it was a short lesson. Her mother was watching from the window of their living room. Emil...

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