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Write about a couple who fall out on the road.

Posted in Valentine's Day on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 16 stories

Kerfuffle in Yazoo County

Submitted to Contest #110

The white boy falls out of the Ford F-150 pickup truck first, hitting the road with a sickening thud. His left eye is already turning purplish-red, eyelid swelling to a most startling size. Moments later, a pretty dark skinned girl is launched from the Ford’s passenger side as well, but she elegantly falls, executing a dive, tuck and roll, ending up on her feet as if she’d been preparing for that particular move her whole life—all while keeping ahold of her purse.It is impressive. We almost applaud, taking the cigarettes from our mouths...

45 likes 22 comments 22
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Promoted

Submitted to Contest #110

Why was Rick calling again? It had only been 30 minutes since Ed’s last check-in.Work could wait; Ed swiped Ignore on the cracked screen of his old phone. “Alright Danny, let’s…” Where was his son? Ed whipped his head around, looking from one end of the massive roadside truck stop to the other. “Honey, where’s Danny?”“He was right h-” His wife, Ivana, paused as she turned to face the candy aisle that Danny ran down just moments before. “Uh, Danny? Danny?!” A moment of silence followed, one that stretched to...

22 likes 8 comments 8
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Over the Moon

Submitted to Contest #110

I wanted a dog more than anything. There he was, across the road after school, no collar, looking hungry. He reminded me of a husky with deep dark and light fur. "Here boy," I said with a high pitch not wanting to scare him. The dog trotted over to me and rubbed his muzzle on my leg. Miss Holloway, my eighth grade teacher, stood with hands on her hips, walking backward.I said, "Don't worry Miss Holloway, I can tell he's friendly. And he sure loves me, don't you think?" Her arms had dropped, hands to coat pockets, she nodded, "Mm-hm."I knew h...

19 likes 13 comments 13
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Turning the Wheel

Submitted to Contest #110

“Hey kiddo, what’s the haps?” Ten year old Ken looked at his father, Robert. He blinked back tears and looked out the car window. His mother watched from the doorway as the car idled in the driveway. “Ken?” With a constricted voice he said, “I thought you were gone. Maybe I wouldn’t see you again.” Robert embraced him. “I don’t know what made you think that. I’ll always be your father.” He took Ken by the shoulders. “Things change, Ken. Things always change. But rest easy. I’m your Dad and you’re my son.” Ken smiled shyly. “I have some erran...

19 likes 11 comments 11
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Road Trip From Hell

Submitted to Contest #110

            As I drove cautiously along a deserted road in the Virginia-North Carolina countryside, the passing scenery reminded me of the forest scene from "Deliverance." To add to the negative atmosphere, my least favorite Realtor office colleague sat next to me. The stillness on this Saturday night made me feel like a solo mortician closing up shop after the last mourner following the wake of the least popular crotchety old man in the neighborhood.  My fellow Realtor, Jill M...

18 likes 0 comments 0
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THE FERN FLOWER

Submitted to Contest #110

It was the last day of our holiday in Poland. We’d already been to Malbork, home to the biggest medieval castle in the world, and the Wolf’s Lair, Hitler’s top-secret, high-security bunker when a place that called my attention popped up on the interactive Google map.      “The Hel Peninsula,” I said with amusement.       “Do you think it’s worth visiting? I asked Justyna, my wife.       She shrugged.      “It’s ju...

12 likes 2 comments 2
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The Picnic

Submitted to Contest #110

Savannah “Savannah, I really wish you wouldn’t worry so much,” Matt says. He reaches over the car’s center console and pats her leg, smiling at her encouragingly. Savannah glances sideways at him and nods as he focuses back on the road in front of them. She admires his strong jawline, his bright blue eyes currently hidden behind his sunglasses, his fitted tee shirt, and the curve of his bicep as he grips the steering wheel. Last night on the phone Matt suggested they spend their day off together enjoying an easy hike to a waterfall....

11 likes 0 comments 0
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The Toy We Couldn't Roll Over

Submitted to Contest #110

Traveling down this road is too much. I know where it ends. The little bumps and crevices and rusty toys left on the road are our fights. The frustration, lies, hurt, anger. Those stupid toys. Our car rolls smoothly over a toy car just now; I only notice it because my eyes are stone-cold, set on the road in front. But we rolled over like it was nothing. Kept going. In hindsight, it was nothing more than a stupid toy. So why can’t he see that? He’ll take me home, I want to think. He’s left you on the road before. That was different, and I kn...

11 likes 3 comments 3
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Break down on the I-10

Submitted to Contest #110

Ed had to take a leak so he stuck his arm out the window to try to wave to cars behind him that he needed to pass. His blinker was busted and he was hoping to get it fixed once he and Sherri made it to California. “Can you help me?” he asked Sherri who was flipping through a magazine.  “What?” “I need you to wave the cars in the right lane so I can move over.” Sherri sighed and cranked her window down.  Ed waved his arm like he was swirling a t-shirt above his head, while Sherri’s gesture resembled more like a composer encourag...

9 likes 1 comment 1
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A Road Trip with a Special Passenger

Submitted to Contest #110

A Road Trip with a Special Passenger    Elizabeth Fenley I see the red mist of the hongaek around the car as the endlessly flat Texas landscape blurs together through the passenger seat window. He’s driving too fast, with his usual attitude that rules are for everyone else, weaving through traffic without signaling. I stopped commenting on that years ago. But, with the hongaek hovering, I wonder…. “You gonna pout the whole fuckin’ way? Cry like a little bitch?” I take a slow, quiet breath. “I’m not pouting. I’m not cryin...

9 likes 3 comments 3
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Great Southern Land

Submitted to Contest #110

It was a great idea. It was a wild idea. It was the kind of idea burned out office workers dreamed about as they rubbed their bleary bloodshot eyes while staring at computer screens. Wouldn’t that be fun? They might say, while standing in line at the photocopier. Driving all the way around Australia, really seeing the country, you know? The real country. The outback. Not just the cities and the tourist spots. And staying wherever you want each night. Just you, the van, and the road. And then they would laugh, collect their copies, an...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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Monochromatic

Submitted to Contest #110

I asked him why we couldn't shoot doe and he told me it's because they were mothers. Without them the fawns would starve or be easily plucked off their teetering legs by coyotes or bears or wander into roads to be smashed by cars. They don’t got antlers but they know how to hide, he said. My brother elbowed me a stiff one as if to tell me to not bother the old man with my stupid questions. As if I should have learned this from morning cartoons or from our uncle with the spongy nose.  Out there there’s no one to look after you if it a...

8 likes 0 comments 0
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Terminus

Submitted to Contest #110

The highway stretched out ahead of them as far as the eye could see, a dark concrete line that stood out sharply against the tan sand of the surrounding terrain. In didn’t matter which direction you looked out here; flat desert was all there was to see. This highway had nearly no curves. From Alice Springs to Katherine, the road ran almost perfectly straight, parallel with the state lines on either side it.  They had already been driving for a full day and a half, plus the two days it had taken them to get to Uluru, the most famous ...

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Detour

Submitted to Contest #110

Trigger warning: Child abuse, hazardous driving, character death, suicide <I>            “I wish this trip never happened.” I leaned my forehead on the driver’s side-window watching my husband carrying the baby into another diner. This was the fifth time we had to stop to change her diaper since this trip started two hours ago. My stomach had been filled with banana cream pancakes, over-roasted coffee and milkshake that got us those bathroom privileges. I hoped this diner would hav...

8 likes 1 comment 1
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Stones

Submitted to Contest #110

Audrey had not wanted to go to the wedding. Samantha and Barry were Josh’s friends, not hers. She wouldn’t know anyone there. The wedding was two hours outside the city - an idiotic choice, considering all their friends lived in the city - and she didn’t want to get home so late. But she kept her mouth shut. The day was over, and she had survived with her arsenal of smiles. She simpered as she shook hands with people whose names she already forgot. She stood next to Josh and laughed at the anecdotes that she had heard time and time over. S...

7 likes 1 comment 1
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