“drop of water”: a fifty-word story. Humpbuckle Tales 120

January 27, 2022January 26, 2022 Bruce humpbuckletales fiction, fiftywordfiction, fiftywordstory, flash fiction, flashfiction, humpbuckletales, microfiction, short story, story, zapfic50

She sits in the kitchen, staring at the sink.

A drop of water falls from the tap.

Plink!

Another swells, inflating until the spout can’t hold onto it any longer and it falls, splashing onto the ceramic below.

She passes hours watching the leaky faucet.

It’s better than the telly.
…

This is the one-hundred-and-twentieth story in the series of Humpbuckle Tales. Each story is precisely 50 words long. They are meant to be independent stories, but if you read them all you will find each one adds another piece to the puzzle – there is a bigger story that is being told.

This story was first published on my Hive blog (@felt.buzz) and you can find all the stories on the @humbuckletales Hive account.

Hive is a blogging platform that rewards posts in a cryptocurrency (Hive).

You will find over 70 more Humpbuckle Tales on the @humbuckletales Hive blog (so this blog is about 6 weeks behind)

On Hive I publish 12 stories per week (Monday to Saturday one story per day and then six 50-word stories in one post on a Sunday).

On HumpbuckleTales.com I also publish 12 tales a week but at a different schedule (and about 6 weeks behind): 2 Tales every day, Monday-Friday and 1 Tale on Saturday and 1 Tale on Sunday.

You can watch the author read the first 22 Humpbuckle Tales on YouTube or you can listen to it as a podcast.

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Written by Bruce Arbuckle (@felt.buzz on Hive). Find the latest in the Humpbuckle Tales series on Hive

Katie (2 of 6): alcohol-related incident. Humpbuckle Tales 114

January 24, 2022January 18, 2022 Bruce humpbuckletales, Katie fiction, fiftywordfiction, fiftywordstory, flash fiction, flashfiction, humpbuckletales, microfiction, short story, story, zapfic50

Katie and Dana, the other chalet host, don’t like each other.

One night, after consuming too many vodkas, Katie is harassed by two men.

Dana intervenes, sees them off, takes her home.

“If another woman’s in trouble, I’ll help,” she says. “Even if she is a pain in my arse.”

…

This is the one-hundred-and-fourteenth story in the series of Humpbuckle Tales. Each story is precisely 50 words long. They are meant to be independent stories, but if you read them all you will find each one adds another piece to the puzzle – there is a bigger story that is being told.

This story was first published on my Hive blog (@felt.buzz) and you can find all the stories on the @humbuckletales Hive account.

Hive is a blogging platform that rewards posts in a cryptocurrency (Hive).

You will find over 70 more Humpbuckle Tales on the @humbuckletales Hive blog (so this blog is about 6 weeks behind)

On Hive I publish 12 stories per week (Monday to Saturday one story per day and then six 50-word stories in one post on a Sunday).

On HumpbuckleTales.com I also publish 12 tales a week but at a different schedule (and about 6 weeks behind): 2 Tales every day, Monday-Friday and 1 Tale on Saturday and 1 Tale on Sunday.

You can watch the author read the first 22 Humpbuckle Tales on YouTube or you can listen to it as a podcast.

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“developing now”: a fifty-word story. Humpbuckle Tales 111

January 21, 2022January 18, 2022 Bruce humpbuckletales, Psychiatric Hospital fiction, fiftywordfiction, fiftywordstory, flash fiction, flashfiction, humpbuckletales, microfiction, short story, story, zapfic50

“And after the break we’ll have more on the developing story following the discovery of a body of a homeless man, missing from the streets of Humpbuckle-on-sea for more than five months. Police have made an arrest. The suspect is believed to be connected to the psychiatric hospital.”

…

This is the one-hundred-and-eleventh story in the series of Humpbuckle Tales. Each story is precisely 50 words long. They are meant to be independent stories, but if you read them all you will find each one adds another piece to the puzzle – there is a bigger story that is being told.

This story was first published on my Hive blog (@felt.buzz) and you can find all the stories on the @humbuckletales Hive account.

Hive is a blogging platform that rewards posts in a cryptocurrency (Hive).

You will find over 70 more Humpbuckle Tales on the @humbuckletales Hive blog (so this blog is about 6 weeks behind)

On Hive I publish 12 stories per week (Monday to Saturday one story per day and then six 50-word stories in one post on a Sunday).

On HumpbuckleTales.com I also publish 12 tales a week but at a different schedule (and about 6 weeks behind): 2 Tales every day, Monday-Friday and 1 Tale on Saturday and 1 Tale on Sunday.

You can watch the author read the first 22 Humpbuckle Tales on YouTube or you can listen to it as a podcast.

…

“alcohol-related incidents”: a 50-word story. Humpbuckle Tale 108

January 20, 2022January 18, 2022 Bruce humpbuckletales, Katie fiction, fiftywordfiction, fiftywordstory, flash fiction, flashfiction, humpbuckletales, microfiction, short story, story, zapfic50

Katie barely remembers her father.

She was four when he left.

She’s unsure if the memories she has are real or somehow constructed from her mother’s tales.

Most stories of her dad are funny incidents involving alcohol and, occasionally, the police.

He was a happy drunk, her mother tells Katie.

…

This is the one-hundred-and-eighth story in the series of Humpbuckle Tales. Each story is precisely 50 words long. They are meant to be independent stories, but if you read them all you will find each one adds another piece to the puzzle – there is a bigger story that is being told.

This story was first published on my Hive blog (@felt.buzz) and you can find all the stories on the @humbuckletales Hive account.

Hive is a blogging platform that rewards posts in a cryptocurrency (Hive).

You will find over 70 more Humpbuckle Tales on the @humbuckletales Hive blog (so this blog is about 6 weeks behind)

On Hive I publish 12 stories per week (Monday to Saturday one story per day and then six 50-word stories in one post on a Sunday).

On HumpbuckleTales.com I also publish 12 tales a week but at a different schedule (and about 6 weeks behind): 2 Tales every day, Monday-Friday and 1 Tale on Saturday and 1 Tale on Sunday.

You can watch the author read the first 22 Humpbuckle Tales on YouTube or you can listen to it as a podcast.

…

“Keep Your Visions To Yourself” 6 of 6: Flower Magic. Humpbuckle Tales 70

December 29, 2021December 18, 2021 Bruce humpbuckletales, Janet fiction, fiftywordfiction, fiftywordstory, flash fiction, flashfiction, humpbuckletales, microfiction, short story, story, zapfic50

Janet’s grandmother kept no photographs of her wayward daughter but Fleur is instantly recognisable.

“I haven’t much time.”

She apologises for her absence, for passing on her “condition”.

They talk all day, and half the night.

When Janet awakes, her mother is gone,

She’s not certain it wasn’t a dream.

…

This is the seventieth story in the series of Humpbuckle Tales. Each story is precisely 50 words long. They are meant to be independent stories, but if you read them all you will find each one adds another piece to the puzzle – there is a bigger story that is being told.

This story was first published on my Hive blog (@felt.buzz) and you can find all the stories on the @humbuckletales Hive account.

Hive is a blogging platform that rewards posts in a cryptocurrency (Hive).

You will find over 70 more Humpbuckle Tales on the @humbuckletales Hive blog (so this blog is about 6 weeks behind)

On Hive I publish 12 stories per week (Monday to Saturday one story per day and then six 50-word stories in one post on a Sunday).

On HumpbuckleTales.com I also publish 12 tales a week but at a different schedule (and about 6 weeks behind): 2 Tales every day, Monday-Friday and 1 Tale on Saturday and 1 Tale on Sunday.

You can watch the author read the first 22 Humpbuckle Tales on YouTube or you can listen to it as a podcast.

…

“Keep Your Visions To Yourself” 5 of 6: Energy. Humpbuckle Tales 69

December 28, 2021December 18, 2021 Bruce humpbuckletales

Janet’s visions lose intensity as she grows older.

She works in the library now. On weekends she reads palms and tea leaves in a small cubical on the pier.

One Saturday, she feels an energy explode around her.

On regaining consciousness a woman stands over her.

“Hello mother,” Janet says.

…

This is the sixty-ninth story in the series of Humpbuckle Tales. Each story is precisely 50 words long. They are meant to be independent stories, but if you read them all you will find each one adds another piece to the puzzle – there is a bigger story that is being told.

This story was first published on my Hive blog (@felt.buzz) and you can find all the stories on the @humbuckletales Hive account.

Hive is a blogging platform that rewards posts in a cryptocurrency (Hive).

You will find over 70 more Humpbuckle Tales on the @humbuckletales Hive blog (so this blog is about 6 weeks behind)

On Hive I publish 12 stories per week (Monday to Saturday one story per day and then six 50-word stories in one post on a Sunday).

On HumpbuckleTales.com I also publish 12 tales a week but at a different schedule (and about 6 weeks behind): 2 Tales every day, Monday-Friday and 1 Tale on Saturday and 1 Tale on Sunday.

You can watch the author read the first 22 Humpbuckle Tales on YouTube or you can listen to it as a podcast.

…

“Broken But Wonderful” 3 of 6: Busy. Humpbuckle Tales 55

December 20, 2021December 16, 2021 Bruce humpbuckletales

He lost his job, home, wife, and car.

Always wanting to live by the sea, Arnold drifts towards the coast.

He works for food and a bed when he can.

If he can’t find shelter he takes his mind off the cold, and his body active, by picking up trash.

…

This is the fifty-fifth story in the series of Humpbuckle Tales. Each story is precisely 50 words long. They are meant to be independent stories, but if you read them all you will find each one adds another piece to the puzzle – there is a bigger story that is being told.

This story was first published on my Hive blog (@felt.buzz) and you can find all the stories on the @humbuckletales Hive account.

Hive is a blogging platform that rewards posts in a cryptocurrency (Hive).

You will find over 70 more Humpbuckle Tales on the @humbuckletales Hive blog (so this blog is about 6 weeks behind)

On Hive I publish 12 stories per week (Monday to Saturday one story per day and then six 50-word stories in one post on a Sunday).

On HumpbuckleTales.com I also publish 12 tales a week but at a different schedule (and about 6 weeks behind): 2 Tales every day, Monday-Friday and 1 Tale on Saturday and 1 Tale on Sunday.

You can watch the author read the first 22 Humpbuckle Tales on YouTube or you can listen to it as a podcast.

…

“Cracked”: a fifty-word story. Humpbuckle Tales 50

December 17, 2021December 16, 2021 Bruce humpbuckletales fiction, fiftywordfiction, fiftywordstory, flash fiction, flashfiction, humpbuckletales, microfiction, short story, story, zapfic50

Of late, she feels broken.

Like the bathroom mirror, cracked lengthways.

She half-remembers falling into it.

Or was she pushed?

It doesn’t matter, says the voice in her head. Just take your medicine.

Staring at the split running through the reflected image of her face, she swallows another pill.

…

This is the fiftieth story in the series of Humpbuckle Tales. Each story is precisely 50 words long. They are meant to be independent stories, but if you read them all you will find each one adds another piece to the puzzle – there is a bigger story that is being told.

This story was first published on my Hive blog (@felt.buzz) and you can find all the stories on the @humbuckletales Hive account.

Hive is a blogging platform that rewards posts in a cryptocurrency (Hive).

You will find over 70 more Humpbuckle Tales on the @humbuckletales Hive blog (so this blog is about 6 weeks behind)

On Hive I publish 12 stories per week (Monday to Saturday one story per day and then six 50-word stories in one post on a Sunday).

On HumpbuckleTales.com I also publish 12 tales a week but at a different schedule (and about 6 weeks behind): 2 Tales every day, Monday-Friday and 1 Tale on Saturday and 1 Tale on Sunday.

You can watch the author read the first 22 Humpbuckle Tales on YouTube or you can listen to it as a podcast.

…

“late breakfast” a fifty-word story. Humpbuckle Tales 37

November 13, 2021 Bruce Dave, Gilham, humpbuckletales, Psychiatric Hospital fiction, fiftywordfiction, fiftywordstory, flash fiction, flashfiction, humpbuckletales, microfiction, short story, story, zapfic50

Every day, following retirement, Gilham strolls along the clifftop path to the grounds of the psychiatric hospital, where he brunches on eggs in the Hope Cafe.

Dave – a long-stay patient – often serves him.

Over time, Dave opens up about his illness, its beginnings, who was involved.

Gilham listens intently.

…

This is the thirty-seventh story in the series of Humpbuckle Tales. Each story is precisely 50 words long. They are meant to be independent stories, but if you read them all you will find each one adds another piece to the puzzle – there is a bigger story that is being told.

This story was first published on my Hive blog (@felt.buzz) and you can find all the stories on the @humbuckletales Hive account – at the time of posting this I have just published Tale number 64. On Hive I publish 12 stories per week (Monday to Saturday one story per day and then six 50-word stories in one post on a Sunday).

If you prefer the drip drip drip approach keep coming back here for one 50-word tale every day!

You can watch the author read the first 22 Humpbuckle Tales on YouTube or you can listen to it as a podcast.

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Swimming against the tide 4: Bird Poop ( Humpbuckle Tales 32)

November 7, 2021 Bruce Brian, Festival Pets, Humpbuckle Places, humpbuckletales, Jeff fiction, fiftywordfiction, fiftywordstory, flash fiction, flashfiction, humpbuckletales, microfiction, short story, story, zapfic50

Brian, now twelve, reluctantly spends every other weekend with his dad.

Sharing his mother’s contempt for his father, he hates working at the veterinary practice.

Brian cleans out the cages and makes drinks for the staff.

He amuses himself by stirring bird shit into his dad’s tea along with sugar.

…

This is the thirty-second story in the series of Humpbuckle Tales. Each story is precisely 50 words long. They are meant to be independent stories, but if you read them all you will find each one adds another piece to the puzzle – there is a bigger story that is being told.

This story was first published on my Hive blog (@felt.buzz) and you can find all the stories on the @humbuckletales Hive account – at the time of posting this I have just published 6 Tales: numbers 53-58. On Hive I publish 12 stories per week (Monday to Saturday one story per day and then six 50-word stories in one post on a Sunday).

If you prefer the drip drip drip approach keep coming back here for one 50-word tale every day!

You can watch the author read the first 22 Humpbuckle Tales on YouTube or you can listen to it as a podcast. The 3rd author reading will be published on 15th November.

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