K.J. Hanson

“Paradise Lost” by K.J. Hanson

Submitted to Contest #248

“Can I take Paradise for a walk by myself today?” Layla asked with a perky optimism. “You can, dear.” Layla’s mother stopped washing the dishes to make eye contact with her youngest daughter. “Under one condition—you do NOT let her off the leash.”“But why?” asked Layla. She quickly followed up her question with a clarification. “I won’t, I just… want to know.”“Because I said so, and that should be enough.” Layla had seen her mother’s face scrunch in just such a way before. She was trying to be stern, but was als...

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“Visitors” by K.J. Hanson

For Daryl, the story started with a loud, dull thud—which he had mistakenly believed to be one of the dairy cows getting hit with the old pick-up truck again. To his surprise, he exited the horse barn to find a hole down yonder by the now overturned pig trough. Holes don’t normally draw Daryl’s attention, but the perfectly rectangular shape of this one made him take quite an interest.  He ran toward the hole with big steps and flailing arms, trying to picture what type of rectangular-shaped thing could’ve made something like that...

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“Heart-Shaped Box” by K.J. Hanson

Submitted to Contest #133

My mother had told me when I was young to marry for love, but she should have been more specific. I married a man I loved deeply, so deeply that I couldn’t notice the fact that he always had one foot out the door. He told me he loved me often; it’s the thing I wanted to hear the most. Maybe that’s why he said it. If he was capable of falling in love, I’m certain that it would have been with me. But he was too removed from his own body to let himself fall. He dipped his toe into family life and would wade in the shallow end from time ...

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“The Cave” by K.J. Hanson

Submitted to Contest #132

Are you there, God? It’s me… Josh. I know you’re probably busy and I don’t want to bother you too much, but, uh, I’m still stuck in this cave. Remember when we talked the other day, you said after it was over that I would ascend to Heaven. You know, or something like that. Well, I don’t mean to bug you, but it’s been like two days. I can’t say for sure because it’s as black as the pharaoh’s heart in here, but judging by how bored and hungry I am, I would say it's been two days. Which kind of puts me in a bind because I told everyone I would ...

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“Small Town Gossip” by K.J. Hanson

Ken arrived at Sara's house with a box of wine and two wine glasses. “Oh, thank goodness,” she said as she opened the door, “you’re a lifesaver.” The box of wine was superfluous, but the two wine glasses were sorely needed. Almost everyone from Fowlerville was there for the party and Sara was two glasses short. Ken gave a perfunctory wave to a room full of familiar faces as he removed his coat and handed it to Sara’s husband, Craig. He was a polite man, although inelegantly balding and with a physique usually reserved for sitcom husbands....

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“The Locked Door” by K.J. Hanson

Submitted to Contest #130

To me, the door was always locked. Ever since I can remember. What use is a locked door? It could have just been a wall this whole time. By the time I was eight years old, I would walk by the door without even realizing it was still there. Your mind gets used to things that never change, or mine does at least.  One night, it must have been summer, because I woke up in a blanket fort. I was only able to sleep in a blanket fort when there was no school the next day, and this particular fort was masterful, a semi-permanent structure. It ...

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