Laurentz Baker

“Next” by Laurentz Baker

Neither was seeking anything serious. They simply have these feelings among the millions of other things to do. Anything more than the casual occasion would be complicated. Too much to deal with. That's just the way it is. It hadn't been long since they met. Two with unexplained feelings. Love? Who knows, but they're with one another. Wondering what might happen next. Wondering what should happen next. They’re in love. At least one thought it was love. Neither had been in love before. Or at least they didn't think they had. Is that...

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“Bari's Scriptorium” by Laurentz Baker

Several books rise beside the stairwell and are placed in order on the shelf Blake has hovering near the ceiling. Blake knows he helped his father place the the clear plastic storage bin with the blue and white Christmas lights under the stairs.  “The blue and white lights looked great lining the bookstore window last year,” he says to Bari, his sister. You said as much after we put them up. The haze from...

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“The Root Of The Tree” by Laurentz Baker

The root of the tree was beneath a clump of leaves and hooked the tooth of his rake. James had been busy since the cold weather rolled in. Today, it was sixty degrees and would get warmer throughout the afternoon. The grass cut. The hedges were trimmed. But the onslaught of leaves from the oak trees made it seem it would be next fall before he could make a dent in this year’s yard work. And then the heavy...

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“Happy For You” by Laurentz Baker

I just write what I feel. I don’t have time to worry about what people think. I’m a freelance writer, and I’ve got to get the product out there. They can say what they want. I’ve got to move on to the next story. It’s not an issue. Don’t act like you care. What else am I supposed to do? I have to keep food on the table and a roof over my head. I do my own critiquing. One star, no star, doesn’t matter. No ...

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“Seraphine” by Laurentz Baker

Submitted to Contest #149

I should be asleep by now. But something grabbed my attention. Fire, I think. A single flame. When I sit up to be sure of what I see. It is gone. A flicker. I sit a moment to see if it will show again. Nothing. I lie back down.  And through closed eyes, I see something bright in front of my face. I open my eyes. And there it is. A flame hovering in the corner of my home just below the ceiling. In a blink....

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“When The Carnival Is Not” by Laurentz Baker

Submitted to Contest #93

Cold raindrops propelled by the wind strike like nails to my face. Who in their right mind would visit the carnival with the wind howling its contempt at their existence. And it is in my right mind that I am not sure. But here I am, shivering, muddy, and wet, trying to figure out how I came to be here. The rain is prominent, but the sleet fights to make its presence known.  A carnival. What kind of carniv...

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“No Second Thought” by Laurentz Baker

Submitted to Contest #70

What was Joel thinking? What he did will cost us our lives and cost this company more than ten million dollars. He’s lost it. Our retirement, our pension, gone; it's madness, is what it is. To sell company formulas and not give a damn; give no second thought to put us in danger. What the hell was he thinking? We’ve lost everything. I can’t grasp it. I could kill him, literally kill him. We’re ultimately g...

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“An Eternity of Sorrows” by Laurentz Baker

Submitted to Contest #53

A blazing yellow sun spies us from between a bank of clouds high in the sky. The road’s lights stretched out along the desert floor, flickering, fearing to sleep, anticipating this moment. The dust devils dance among the heat waves rising from the sand.  “It’s been how long, brother? Twelve years? The last time we witnessed one another was Rome. You were pointing your gun at me, running down a flight of s...

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“Nebula 13 (Chapter 2)” by Laurentz Baker

Submitted to Contest #49

Fight for Briem Or Fight for None The message that materialized on my ship’s screen read⎯Onyx Blake. You have not been authorized to assemble a force to engage (this) the Briem.  Nebula Council of Planets (NCOP) I know that a council member is likely at my ship’s entrance. We won’t survive tangled in red tape. I need to depart quickly as ...

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“Nebula 13” by Laurentz Baker

Submitted to Contest #47

In past times when the council of planets attempted to organize a summit, Onyx with many others, who were against the collaboration with the governments he was led to believe murdered his father fought against these attempted summits.  But now that there is a new and more dangerous element at play he no longer has a choice but to support a summit addressing this more dangerous foe. Like many others, if he...

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“The Black Man's Salvation” by Laurentz Baker

Submitted to Contest #45

Fire and thick black smoke tower over the city street like an avenging angel gazing down on razed retail stores, restaurants, and a police precinct.  “This is what happens when good men do nothing,” stated his father. “But then the others were just as evil as the one who did the killing.” “Several attempts have been made, pop, but when will people realize the destruction of the black race ...

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“Ice Blue” by Laurentz Baker

Submitted to Contest #43

It was like any other late spring day in May. If any other late spring day started out at 75° degrees and dropped to 0° degrees. The official holiday celebrating our service members was yesterday and today was the day to wind down and burn the extra calories I scarfed down with a bike ride and run.It was still early⎯5 a.m. My plan to be out of the house by six...six-thirty to avoid being cooked liked the shrimp, green peppers, and pineapple on the kebobs I consumed the day before. Before I left the house I could feel the...

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“Ice Blue” by Laurentz Baker

Submitted to Contest #43

It was like any other late spring day in May. If any other late spring day started out at 75° degrees and dropped to 0° degrees. The official holiday celebrating our service members was yesterday and today was the day to wind down and burn the extra calories I scarfed down with a bike ride and run.It was still early⎯5 a.m. My plan to be out of the house by six...six-thirty to avoid being cooked liked the shrimp, green peppers, and pineapple on the kebobs I consumed the day before. Before I left the house I could feel the...

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“The Shift” by Laurentz Baker

Submitted to Contest #39

We kept watch for decades. The prophecy said it would come. And soon. But the sun set in the west and rose in the east like every other day since I was born. When it happened when the sun rose in the west and set in the east we barely noticed. Why would we? The slight increase in wind speed felt like any other oncoming storm. As long as the sun was up it was all that mattered. It looked like any other summer day. Corn and grain, fruits, and vegetables. Even flowers for fragrances. The planting season was past. The hard part was done.&nbsp...

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“The Window” by Laurentz Baker

Submitted to Contest #38

The drizzle caused the recently paved blacktop in the culdesac to shine under the street lamp. It was an hour before sunrise, too dark for Xavier and James to be seen beyond the broad swath of the L.E.D. light.  Standing at the timber fence that separated their land they peered at Professor Benjamin’s house across the street. Said Xavier, “Professor Ben did say, at his retirement party, he was going on a Kenya safari for a month.”“He did,” says James. “He was likely running late for his flight...

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