James Morris

“Annual Valentine” by James Morris

Submitted to Contest #133

Another Valentine’s Day alone. Thank goodness for these Meet ‘n Greet events that the local community center puts together for us single folk. I really look forward to meeting new women that are single and lonely, just like myself. It’s weird—for me, it’s a comforting feeling knowing others are just as lonely as I am. The way this event works is what brings me back every year. We spend the first hour meeting people in a casual atmosphere, buying drinks at the bar and getting relaxed in preparation for the next event. The next hour or so...

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“Are You There” by James Morris

Submitted to Contest #132

“Are you there, God? It’s me. I know I don’t deserve you listening to me. I think the last time I called on you was when I was just a child. But if you are there, I could really use your help.” The dry desert air made the coolness seem more acceptable. Jason stayed on his knees with his hands cuffed, looking into the clear, starry night. His cuts on his face and arms had already clotted. “I know I haven’t called on you, or prayed, or… whatever. But if you exist, I could really use your help.” He could still see the taillights of the S...

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“Kicking the Habit” by James Morris

Submitted to Contest #118

“Today’s the day I change,” I say to myself, waking up from a long rest. The activities from the previous night still lingered in my mind. “I know I can do it this time.” I get out of bed, head to the bathroom, and turn the shower on as hot as I can take it. I move to the sink and mirror and look at myself. “I should shave,” I say. “But I really don’t want to.” I noticed a zit coming in on my forehead and squeezed it until it popped. There is more puss than I expected, making me reach for a tissue to wipe it clean. I press a second time an...

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“Turnabout is Fair Play” by James Morris

Submitted to Contest #102

It is raining like cats and dogs. Jeff has his umbrella open and walking as fast as he can, but the rain is still hitting his face and body. The 2 AM downpour is a surprise to him, and he is only partially prepared for the trek back to his car. Jeff is looking down, doing his best to keep as much of the rain away from his face. A large gust of wind blows and takes his umbrella right from his hands. For a moment, he thought about chasing it down the street but thought better of it as he held his black trench coat shut at the top collar. He ...

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“The Guardian” by James Morris

Submitted to Contest #101

“You can’t keep doing this, Zach. You are a better man than this, and yet you keep fucking up. It was bad when you did it only on weekends, but now you do it every night. You get drunk, and you act like a stupid idiot.” Zach is looking at himself in the bathroom mirror of Tobie’s, a nightclub on the south side of Manhattan. “You have to make a decision. You either sober up and get help, or you die a loser—alone. What’s it going to be?” Zach sees another man walk in and turns towards the urinals, and he stops the conversation with himsel...

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“The Trap” by James Morris

Submitted to Contest #95

Johnny took the bet. He could use the twenty dollars to buy a new seat for his bicycle. Besides, this old house isn’t really haunted, he thinks to himself. Johnny made a bet with Billy, a kid from school who has been teasing Johnny ever since he started there last fall. Johnny didn’t want to look like a chicken in front of all his classmates. So, when Billy bet him twenty dollars to walk to the second floor of this old house and enter one of the rooms, he said yes.  Now, Johnny is standing at the front door, wishing he just said no a...

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“Life With the Grandparents” by James Morris

TW: graphic scenes of abuse, violence The sun is shining through the windows, casting shadows on all the walls. The gentle spring breeze blows through the trees, causing the shadows to dance and move in rhythmic succession. The mid-century wooden furniture displays small knickknacks that Emily’s grandmother had collected through the years. Her favorite was a small gray kitten, playing with a ball of yarn done in porcelain. She remembers her grandmother telling the story of receiving it as a gift from grandpa in the early years of their marri...

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“The City” by James Morris

Submitted to Contest #85

That’s the thing about this city. You either fit in or you don’t. Either way, you’ll find out faster than a monkey throwing poo at you at the zoo. When she walked in, I could tell that she didn’t belong. With her fancy dress and her fancy hat—donned to the nines. She belonged more at a fancy sorority house than she did in the city. But who am I to judge? I didn’t say a word. She walked over to my desk and put down an envelope full of photos and then another one full of cash. “I don’t know where you come from,” I said, “but around here usu...

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“Finally Free” by James Morris

Submitted to Contest #84

Lisa Kittle, an eighteen-year-old girl, sat in the corner of a dark, musty room. She was curled up in the fetal position, as she usually would do after her captor sexually assaulted her. A single tear rolling down her face. Another day goes by, and still nobody to rescue her from her living hell. A brief thought of her tolerance level came to mind as she remembered she used to have a lot more tears and a lot more crying. But now, one tear is all she could well up, fearing escape and rescue were looking less likely to happen. After some tim...

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“The End” by James Morris

Submitted to Contest #80

President Johnathan Macmillan is a tall man that immediately says "powerful leader" as soon as you take one look at him. He is walking quickly down the White House hallway towards the Oval Office when one of the staff members caught up with him. He looked at her and said in a driving voice, "Tell me what you know, and quickly. I'm headed to address the press in five minutes." "Mr. President, NASA has confirmed the discovery and are working out the calculations as we speak. They won't have an exact time until later today." Grace had been wi...

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“Memory Lapse” by James Morris

Submitted to Contest #75

The heat from the thousand-watt light bulb was starting to get to Linda. The Detective was not going to let off until he received the information he wanted, and Linda was not about to give it to him. “Let’s start again, Ms. McIntyre,” Detective Cheney said. “Were you at the Hotel Ambrosia yesterday evening?” “I don’t know,” Linda replies with a smug look on her face. She feels if she continues to deny her whereabouts, the Detective will not have any proof for his investigation. “I have a video from the hotel lobby that shows you enteri...

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“10 Seconds” by James Morris

Submitted to Contest #74

It is Christmas Eve, and Steven is driving on a secluded mountain road headed to his mother’s house to spend the holidays with her. The sun was just starting to set behind the trees. It would shine through them, hitting him in the eyes every now and then, causing temporary blindness causing him to struggled to focus on the road. Steven had driven this old mountain road many times before. He was familiar with the several fatal car accidents from people going too fast for the conditions. Today, he felt the weather had held off enough to make...

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“The Next Day” by James Morris

Submitted to Contest #70

Carol was woken up by the sound of her phone vibrating on the nightstand next to the bed. Her office was asking if she could bring two-dozen donuts in from the bakery on 1st Street. She responds with a simple yes and places the phone back where it was. Carol closes her eyes, hoping to get a few more minutes of sleep. “Who was that?” a voice said from the other side of the bed. Carol’s eyes opened wide, and her mind started to think back to the previous night. “Who is this?” she thought. “Someone is in my bed with me that I have no recoll...

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“On-Call Lover” by James Morris

Submitted to Contest #68

Kyle and Cindy sit on the lakeside cabin’s dock, watching the sunrise over the mountain peaks reflecting off the water’s mirror surface. Snuggled together in their warm, plaid wool blanket. Each with the hot coffee that they refresh from the thermos they brought with them. They listen to the eagles’ distant sounds in the morning and watch the gentle mist come off the lake as the sun hits the water. The silence is broken by the occasional fish leaping for its invisible food floating topside. “This is nice,” Cindy whispers to avoid making to...

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“A Canadian Murder” by James Morris

Submitted to Contest #67

In the northern part of Texas, near the Oklahoma border, sits a small town of Canadian, Texas. With a population of less than three thousand, everyone seems to know everyone, making this story even harder to believe. On a hot summer day in the middle of July, a man named Marcus Dorado was walking on the corner of Main Street and Purcell, a block away from the railroad tracks that passed through town. Marcus noticed a man standing still on the other side of the tracks. He could tell this man was talking to someone, but whoever it was, they ...

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