Sarah Kaderbek

“Laughter on the Moor” by Sarah Kaderbek

Submitted to Contest #51

I did not believe the tale. When your old grandmama spins yarns as well as yarn beside the fire, you believe that only the latter is real. Her first story frightened the children and sent them to bed, but the older ones, such as I, just laughed and begged for another. As she began this story, however, I felt a dark, sunken weight settle on my mind, and though I believed not the tale, I could not escape the forbidding feeling, the hideous conviction that it was true. I could only account for the sensation by my knowledge that it...

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“Trial and Error” by Sarah Kaderbek

"Let the defendant enter." The judge's words echoed around the room. The crowd held its breath as the door on the left opened and a man walked in.  Everyone in the room craned their necks to get a look at him, but he seemed born to disappoint any expectation they may have harbored. One did not believe him capable of murder, but then again, it was difficult to believe him capable of anything. Yet this was his trial, and that fact marred his only distinctive quality: his most impressive nondistinction. "Let the witnes...

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“Baubles and Stars” by Sarah Kaderbek

Submitted to Contest #49

They were ushered into the room and then left there to wait. There were six of them in all — six crammed into one waiting room. There were seats to spare but no room for any of them. Four men, two women, and the room was too full. Three of the men were comparatively young — one plain, one handsome, one married — and the old man made them all look cheap. Two women — one vibrant, one in white — one was married, and the silence became unbearable.They should have all been speaking at once. With such a collection of ...

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“.000000000128” by Sarah Kaderbek

Submitted to Contest #48

7.8 billion people in the world, and you’re the one reading this. 7.8 billion variables and I’m supposed to address you. What on earth can I say, to someone I’ve never met, someone I shouldn’t know? Well, .000000000128, I know you better than you think. I know that there’s something you hate about yourself, probably about your body. I don’t know what, but something’s wrong with it. It’s too short, too tall, too fat, too thin, wrong hair, wrong shape, wrong color, wrong nose, large mouth, small eyes, pimply, freckly… ...

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“Death Do Us Part” by Sarah Kaderbek

Submitted to Contest #47

When I first met you, I thought “forever” would be so much longer.You were already at the restaurant when I got there. I had finished my appointment, and we were scheduled to meet afterward. But of course, I hadn’t factored in an extra half hour to sob in my car. I checked the time. Perfect. Now I’m fashionably late to my date with destiny.You weren’t mad when I hustled over to your table and made my apologies. You simply cracked a joke about how you’d better get used to waiting for me and smiled that smile which alw...

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“To Make Visible” by Sarah Kaderbek

Submitted to Contest #46

How long had it been? She had missed this. Why had it been so long? She smiled as she glanced over her shoulder. She knew why. Pulled back to the easel, her eyes traced the charcoal outline again but began to wander—over the gesso board, the brushes, the fresh water in the paint-covered jar…Why hadn’t she ever cleaned that?…the four tubs of paint, stacked in the corner. The massive jars inside looked as though they held enough paint for a lifetime, but she knew how quickly she would run out. Though she told herself she...

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