Bittersweets is a collection of short stories, drabbles, and flash fiction pieces. Below are teasers for the stories so you can skip around and read according to which seems more appealing. They are in a sort of order, and drabbles are paired up with loosely related stories. Every few years or so, I change up the order of the stories for the heck of it.
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drabble
A drabble is an extremely short work of fiction of exactly one hundred words in length, not necessarily including the title.
flash fiction
Flash fiction is often defined as a story told in 1000 words or fewer. Some publications define them as stories with more specific word counts ranging from 100 words to 1,500.
short story
Short stories often range from 1,500 words to as many as 10,000 words.
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Table of Contents and Teasers
stories
literary flash fiction
Pain is relative and cannot be easily judged. This short piece was written in response to a prompt about Russian prison tattoos.
save me
an anti fairy tale romance
Dreams, fairy tales, and happily ever afters. How far is one willing to go to live in that world forever?
beauty is in the eye
horror short story
One's quest for happiness, for beauty, is full of many unexpected twists and turns. Some for the better, some not.
broken
horror short story
Talked into house-sitting by her roommate, Belita waits nervously for her friend to come home for the night. After the wind howls through the creaky old house and shatters a glass in the kitchen, Belita begins to realize that she may not actually be alone.
the imminent end
dystopian flash fiction
Jennel risks all for one magical night. A retelling of when Cinderella leaves the ball with a futuristic twist in fewer than one hundred and fifty words.
the chalice
steampunk short story
Claire, the daughter of a master craftsman, is brought to the door of her shop late one night and finds impending doom on her doorstep. Entrusted with the culmination of her father's work and studies, she and the unfortunate messenger boy must escape with a treasure that could be the hope or doom of mankind.
her eyes
fantasy flash fiction
Most of us have a swirling mess within our souls. A special few have a more calculated design. They see the world, unlike all others.
spirit of the aspens
dark fairy tale
After escaping the ruins of their smoldering castle, young Lord Roldan and his mother, the lady of the house must survive a winter in the haunted aspen forest in order to escape to the lands beyond.
drown girl
paranormal drabble
Based on a dream. I've had variations of this dream since childhood when staying at my parents' house.
wash it all away
horror short story
Beneath the city, something sleeps. Something best left undisturbed.
the harbinger
drabble
A woman's life is forever changed by one sudden event.
things unseen
flash fiction
Sometimes stories told take root in our imagination and become real. Or were they always real, and simply waiting for our minds to become open to them?
doll head
flash fiction
A doll head can be a girl's best friend.
bittersweet
flash fiction
alone
science fiction flash fiction
A vast tower is Sheria's prison, the warden a creature beyond imagining.
A retelling of when Beauty meets the Beast with a futuristic twist told in fewer than one hundred and fifty words.
static
science fiction flash fiction
"In my eeriest dreams, my thoughts turn to static. It is in these half-waking moments that I question my reality, my very being."
ominous fate
science fiction flash fiction
A retelling of Hansel and Gretel finding the witch's cottage with a futuristic twist in fewer than one hundred and fifty words.
starchild
science fiction short story
There once was a girl. She grew up amongst the tall, spindly, and lushly canopied Taegar trees. As much as she loved those beautiful and infinitely tall trees and the land and the people, it was not her land, and they were not her people.
A retelling of Shakespeare's "All's Well that Ends Well."
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All stories Copyright © 2011-2020 by M.S. Chavez
All rights reserved. This publication contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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bittersweets
Short Storybit·ter·sweet: being at once bitter and sweet; especially: pleasant but including or marked by elements of suffering or regret. A collection of short stories I've written since joining Wattpad for various contests, challenges, and publications. Thes...
