Stories tagged “Sin”
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Sin Full
He felt a peculiar numbness in the tip of his fingers the second she opened the door. “You’re not asleep?” she whispered… “Listen, I think we need to…” he mumbled before she slammed the bathroom door. “W...
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Closer To God
Just because it’s my fault doesn’t mean I’m the only one who has to, or should, pay. We’re all prone to occasional bouts of imperfection; of sin. As the man once said, “let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.” All of us are burdene...
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Wait... He Killed The Guy?!?!?!
I struggled to get out of the bag I was trapped in. It was a big burlap sack. I screamed and cried. I didn’t want to die by suffocating in a sack. Suddenly, I heard a strange noise. It sounded like metal scrapping against the ground. What’s...
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Hands
There was this old man on the corner. His hands were leather and his soul was air. He smoked Kools while he plucked a guitar with his stubby fingers and half-sang, half-brayed a song of love. If any woman had understood it, their hearts would have been...
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I Am
I am no beggar; I take no handouts. I am no saint; I sin. I am not steel; I bend, and break When tried, and tried again. I am no dog, I do not take A beating and still love. I am no quitter! This is my vow That I will rise above. I am no mom. You’...
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Atmosphere
I stare at the ceiling for no reason at all. I have memorized it crack for crack, categorized each water-damage mark like a map of the stars. My stars. My sky. I hear the drip-drop of a faulty faucet; constant, my only measure of time here. It doesn&...
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Sin by Numbers
Cruising along at 83 mph, Carl gave a bemused smile to the religious billboard, 5 of the ten commandments. He knew on his return trip he’d be treated to a view of the remaining Biblical directives. 1 hour to drive to the Hilliard/Rome exit, the s...
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Whiskey and Sin
The music occupied any and every space not occupied by the seething mass of gyrating bodies, all alcohol-fueled libido and swagger. Reston was as out of place as a possum in a cotillion, but they had a surprising stock of Jack, Jim, and Jameson behind ...
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No Easy Day
Paul squinted at a sky made hazy with humidity, just a hint of blue. The day was not going to go easy on him. He picked at his shirt, clingy with sweat, as he picked his way around the goats and their droppings. “Particular as always,” his ...
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Religion and Motivation
Mae hollered, like women of her ilk were want to do, “Paul, you sad sack, where you been?” Paul stopped well short of the screen door held open for him, smelling the usual bacon and greens, “Afternoon Mae, I just…” “...
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Coming Darkness Above Purvis Creek
An hour before the appointed time, Paul stood at the midpoint of the Route 13 bridge, Rankin county to his left, Smith county to his right. The yellow-brown water of Purvis creek crept along, full of crawdads and frogs, poor oblivious creatures. He pal...
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Free From Life and Sin
“You got my money, boy?” Hands outstretched, Paul turned to face the question, no answer but a faint smile. He regarded the bloated bear of a man and felt nothing. More rightly, he felt the great upwelling of anger and resentment for the pa...
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Waking Horror
She could still hear the screams. He’d railed at them, cursed them. His eyes – Lord above, his eyes. What fire had burned within them; what madness had stirred in their depths! They had been two pits, as if the long-nailed hands of Insanity...
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The Bronze Beast
Sweat rained off his forehead as he drew his sword. He couldn’t swallow. He could barely breathe. The bronze creature towered above him, exhaling hot and bitter breath. It had been so small before; an almost innocent creature that he had played w...
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To Take Away
He had seen the boys through the threshold. He watched them pluck and shake the tree. The leaves came down in a blizzard of green and red. The fruit mashed underfoot, picked up and lobbed at the hedge. They gleefully rent the flesh with their fingers. ...
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Arson
The city was ablaze. No one knew who started it, or why; it wasn’t of the greatest importance now. Saving the city was now; the petty criminals would have to reckoned with later. Buildings were ablaze with fire, charred to no recognition, crumbli...
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Casting Stones
The game was complete. He’d been working on it for so long. He would create the first character before the game even went on the market. He created a priest. Finally he would have the capability of judging the people who needed it. In the game he wou...
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To be a Musician you need— (part I)
To be a Musician you need Pride a desire to show off because you are good, and you know it because the music – your music – is good, and you want the world to know it. So let the spotlight be yours. Greed to always long for more— more pieces, mor...
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To be a Musician you need— (part II)
Music is a seductress (a goddess) and you, her most delighted victim her most devoted follower will love her forever— Join the queue, wait in line, you’re just another worshipper, another genius, another poor fool, one out of (too) many. So cry...
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Repayment
A bed of Shimeji mushrooms was a perfect place to rest at the end of the day. The tops rolled like clouds across the ground, a nap here could melt anybody’s troubles away. But here I came, came running, and I squeezed down between the stalks befo...