Jethro Pili

“Christian & Nicole” by Jethro Pili

During his 1-hour lunchbreak, Christian Harrison scrolled through dozens of profiles on a new dating app called My Aphrodite. It had been a few days and he hadn’t found anyone interesting yet. He’d been swiping left for days. He was starting to think the app was a great waste of his time and was considering deleting it. Suddenly, one profile caught his attention. Her name was Nicole Wheatly and her interests matched with his. She was a huge Tolkien fan, a huge George R.R. Martin fan, a huge Anne Rice fan, was a Trekkie and secretly a Star Wa...

1 like 0 comments 0

Read story

“Tragedy At Turtle Beach” by Jethro Pili

TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING: Tragic character death. A young man gets buried in the sand.It was supposed to be a fun summer day for all six of us—Chris, Hazel, Kevin, Tammy, Dorian, and me. You all know about the Three Musketeers; we were the Six Musketeers. We had just graduated and it was our last first day of summer. We had the whole summer ahead of us before we headed off to college. Except for Chris and Dorian. Chris had enlisted in the Marines and Dorian in the Navy. They would be going off to basic training at the end of the summer. The o...

1 like 0 comments 0

Read story

“Evergloom No More” by Jethro Pili

CONTENT WARNING: There is a battle scene here that describes a gruesome wound.There once was a rich, fair land named Eden, where man and beast lived in harmony with each other. The sun rose and fell each day to bless the people of Eden. But one day, a power-hungry sorcerer named Merodach set his heart on conquering Eden. Though her people fought bravely, some, by very well-placed bribes, fell to the Darkness. Once every square inch of Eden was finally his, Merodach cast a spell on the land so that it did not see the light of the sun by day n...

1 like 0 comments 0

Read story

“Seashells For Your Sweetheart” by Jethro Pili

It was a Sunday and Will Stanford’s day was already packed and planned. He was a very disciplined planner and stuck to routine. With how strictly he stuck to routine, he would have made a very fine soldier. He woke up at 9AM to freshen up. After making sure that he was fresh, clean, and ready for the day, he ordered pancakes from IHOP and had Uber Eats deliver it to his dorm at Dunster House. While eating, he studiously did his homework and studied for an upcoming quiz in his Microeconomics class. At around 11:00, he stopped what he was doin...

2 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“The Scarlet Thread” by Jethro Pili

Submitted to Contest #134

Today was the day I feared the most. For three months, I had been living in a good friend’s rundown apartment here in Undercity, hiding like a scared, pathetic little child. I was a hunted fugitive up there in Overworld. Each year, two citizens are randomly chosen from the government database. Our number would be called, so-to-speak, and we would report very early in the morning at the Capitol on Scarlet Thread Day. By the luck of the draw, one of us would be executed in front of the Capitol before thousands of eagerly watching citizens. Tho...

11 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“ESM: Emergency Sister Meeting” by Jethro Pili

Submitted to Contest #131

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Anne McBride’s fingers flew all over the keyboard, typing as fast as she could, à la Clark Kent, the Daily Planet’s fastest typist. Currently, there was a party at Chloe Higgins’s palatial house and she was invited, along with her younger sister Katherine, but she declined. She had more important things to do. She was focused on homework—always have, always will. Their youngest sister Mary was at the Silver Spatula, eating burgers and fries, drinking shakes, and studying with her study g...

15 likes 1 comment 1

Read story

“Sleeping In A Snow Globe” by Jethro Pili

The red van pulled up the property’s gravel driveway and Camille killed the engine. They all surveyed their surroundings, except for John, who was asleep for the duration of the trip.“Well, here we are,” Camille said with a smile.“Why does it look so dry?” Tim asked, taking notice of the dark green pine needles and the snowless ground. “Where’s the snow? How are we going to ski or snowboard?”“Don’t worry,” Hazel said, turning in her seat to look back at Tim. “It’ll probably snow tonight or tomorrow. And if it doesn’t, they’d probably make so...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Chai Tea For Two?” by Jethro Pili

The smell of cloves, cardamom, star anise, allspice, peppercorn, nutmeg, ginger, full-bodied black tea, and cinnamon filled Aparna McMichael’s tiny kitchen in her Modesto mobile home. The gentle bubbling of the tea in the saucepan sounded therapeutic and soothing. Her daughter Patricia was coming over for a visit. Aparna McMichael had married into a large Irish Catholic family and converted from her family’s strictly traditional Hinduism. She also bucked the tradition of eating after her husband Michael. She never really understood that part...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Whoso Pulleth This Sword” by Jethro Pili

Submitted to Contest #122

NOTE: My main character describes a short scene involving suicide and gore on his phone.I was in my room on a late Friday morning (it was a Flex Day at Brennan’s Glenn High School, which meant school budget meetings and planning for the next school year—teachers get stuck in boring meetings all day and students get to stay home, except for the football team and cheer squad). I was listening to my music when the doorbell rang. I hit pause and removed my earphones to make sure it was the doorbell and not part of the music. After making sure th...

13 likes 2 comments 2

Read story

“Rainy Day Reminiscences” by Jethro Pili

I had just finished cleaning the house from top to bottom and I had some time to sit down and relax for a little bit while Peter was out buying the turkey. It will be Thanksgiving in two days and we were hosting this year so turkey duty fell to us. A crisp crack of thunder rippled overhead and the rain started to pour, tapping rhythmically against the windowpane. I smiled and picked up a couple of photo albums from the coffee table and flipped through it while I sat in my favorite armchair by the window, mug of hot cider in my left hand. The...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Rebirth & Awakening” by Jethro Pili

(TRIGGER WARNING: Gore) The last thing I remember feeling was the searing heat from the enemy bullets that riddled my body. The GPO, now crumbling and set ablaze by cannons, was surrounded on all sides and we were on the verge of defeat. All was lost. The Irish people, for whom we did all this, were against us. They could not see our sacrifice for them. I can only hope that they will see it someday soon. I felt that our actions were all in vain and that what we were fighting for was all for naught. My comrades and I, however, decided to ma...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Blood Ties” by Jethro Pili

Everything was ready for the ritual. The three golden goblets sat on the sheet-covered altar along with the dagger that was to be used for the ceremony. The white handkerchief lay loosely coiled around the base of the middle goblet. Candles and torches surrounded the chapel, casting it in a warm golden glow. Garlands of black and dark red roses hung on the walls and coils of ivy hugged every stone pillar. I paced the room nervously, worried that my bride had changed her mind and decided not to show. If my kind could only sweat, I would have ...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“The Wood Between the Worlds” by Jethro Pili

Grandpa opened the front door and all four of us—me, Grandpa, Levi, and Ben—stepped inside. I was struck by the coziness of Grandpa’s decorating tastes. The cabin felt comfortable and homey with all wood walls and a stone fireplace. An antler chandelier hung from the ceiling, suspended by miraculously sturdy coils of rope, making it look more rustic. They’re usually suspended by chains. But I liked the rope idea. The walls were decorated with animal heads, and knowing Benjamin, he was already rattling off every name of every specie he could ...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Radio Silence” by Jethro Pili

“That’s great to hear, Rye!” Matt Folger said as he paced his room at 3:36 in the morning in his host family’s home in Cameroon. He was on the phone catching up with his longtime neighbor and childhood best friend Ryan Hunter. It was 7:36 PM in Oregon. “What else is new? Do you have any more news? How are my sisters and my cousin Gwen? What about Abigail? Are you checking up on her to make sure she’s not depressed while I’m gone?” “Why should I?” Ryan joked. “Am I your girlfriend’s keeper?” “It’s part of your best friend duties,” Matt said. ...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“True Friends On A Perfect Day” by Jethro Pili

You wanna do something fun? That was the text that Jade sent me. It was a Saturday morning and Jack and I had just finished our chores around the house. I was just lying in bed, not really in the mood to do anything else. I didn’t want to go out. It had been two months since my ordeal—since I nearly died from drowning and I was scared, traumatized, and depressed. I had locked myself away from the world like Rapunzel in her tower. In addition to almost being killed by the women’s swim team, I had also just recently discovered that Dad wasn’t ...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story