Heather Eldridge

“Percolating Thoughts” by Heather Eldridge

Submitted to Contest #253

Liam checked his watch for what must have been the fifteenth time in the past five minutes. He was astounded to see the second hand still ticking along, reliably as ever. Had it still only been another minute? It felt like he was stuck in time; the waiting was interminable. Liam sighed and drummed his fingers on the table. If he wasn’t here in another five minutes, Liam was going to leave. He’d had enough of waiting, and he was wishing he just hadn’t come at all. Liam looked around the café in an attempt to distract himself.The door had just...

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“The Morbid Fascinations Podcast” by Heather Eldridge

Submitted to Contest #252

Trigger Warning: Physical and Sexual Violence; Suicide I never meant to do it. Well, I did mean to do it, but somehow when I did, it only felt like fiction. That was how the podcast always felt too; like fiction. It was just another story to tell.It all started as a lark with my best friend Josie. We grew up reading about crimes in the newspapers we snuck out of the recycling after our dads finished with them. We read Nancy Drew novels like it was our job. We played detective games and spent all of our free time solving whatever mysteries we...

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“Marathon Runner” by Heather Eldridge

Submitted to Contest #247

Just put one foot in front of the other. How could it be so difficult, to do something so simple? It had sounded so doable the night before, lying awake in bed at 2 AM, unable to fall asleep, yet again. Ellie really needed to stop drinking coffee so late in the day. That was the problem. She plodded along, trying to concentrate on the soreness in her legs rather than the sloshing cramp in her stomach that she knew would really be her limiting factor. Half a mile down, one and a half to go. Why did she ever think this was a good idea? She wa...

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“Swingset Blues” by Heather Eldridge

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #246

The bright sun in my face, the flowers bordering the sidewalk, the birds chittering at me, all fall in stark contrast to the morbid thoughts chasing each other through my mind. It’s been less than an hour since my life, my future, came to a crashing halt, and I am struggling to understand how the world around me seems to still be carrying on like nothing has changed. It’s a six-minute walk from where I sat inside on the paper-covered table to the playground outside where my husband is waiting for me. Six minutes to think of any way at all to...

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“The Valentine” by Heather Eldridge

Submitted to Contest #209

“Do we really get to take a taxi?” Lenny asked, his excitement nearly palpable. He’d never been in a taxi before. He wondered vaguely why today was so special to ride in a taxi instead of taking the school bus home, but he didn’t want to ask any questions and risk his mother changing her mind. “Yes, Len, we’re taking a taxi. How was school today?” “It was fine,” he responded, his voice losing some of its cheer. His mother opened the side door and ushered him into the backseat of the yellow cab. As she slid in beside him, the cabbie turned...

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“Babysitting a Scoundrel” by Heather Eldridge

My gaze scanned the hordes of people milling through the street, trying frantically to find my younger brother. I’d been left in charge while my parents went out to a meeting, and this was my first real test as a babysitter. I’d passed the babysitting class just one week earlier and I was more than ready to prove myself, but I must have forgotten how wild Jake can get, when I agreed to stay home alone with him for four whole hours. All it took was me going to the bathroom for two minutes and when I came back out, he was gone. I’d searched th...

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“Time Travel Costs $595” by Heather Eldridge

Submitted to Contest #196

“Your total is $595.” the automated voice said, as Hendrick arrived at the turnstile.                “Man, prices just keep going up, don’t they?” Hendrick said to no one in particular. He tapped his right wrist to the scanner which gave a little ping, having successfully processed his payment through the subdermal credit card chip implant.                “Tell me about it,” an elderly lady was...

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