The station smelled of wet wool, stale coffee and cigarettes. I stood at the platform. I had arrived on time,
stayed behind the line,
I did the right things-
chivalrous things.
I stood tall -
patient.
I held the gesture in my hands.
Hands now cold and pricked with thorns.
But my eyes wandered,
my body heated inside my coat.
It was her-
the woman from the bar the other night.
She said she’d leave him and now I was witnessing her making a clean break for it.
My mind told me to stay-
be obedient.
My body edged closer.
I no longer cared about arrivals.
I craved departure.
I craved her!
Things Unsaid
Feb 9, 2026
Challenge 4
6 stories
6 authors
16 likes
172 avg. words
Prompt
Custom · Max 150 words
Arrival or Departure
111 words · 2 likes · Permalink
Misophonia
by John Cox
148 words · 4 likes · Permalink
"Too little too late," she said lips white knuckling against her teeth ready to race with all the words in their head.
"I know sorry is not enough." A tidal wave of thoughts withdraw from the shore of his eyes and comes crashing down on his mind flooding his ability to think clearly, some of the ocean's waters spilling from his eyes.
Only moments ago they were at dinner together. He was high on life and wine with his inhibitions low. The steak was a perfect medium rare and he hadn't eaten all day.
He knew the instant he looked up from his plate. Squishing and popping of tendons, carried in the still air.
He watched her expression go from shock to pain to betrayal. It was abominable.
She had watched him do it and with a smile on his face! She could never forgive such irresponsible mastication.
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The Last Train to the Unwritten
132 words · 4 likes · Permalink
The chrono-tower at the Middle Ring Hub ticked—a countdown to deletion. Kaelen clutched the roses, their crimson petals a flagrant display of Anima in a city scrubbed by the Logos.
They were organic, illegal, and smelled of rebellion.
Elena stood by the Mag-Lev express to Sector 12, the edge of the map where the Scrivener’s ink hadn't dried.
"Don't," the resistance comms buzzed in his ear. "Emotion triggers the Silence Keepers. You’ll be edited out."
He hesitated. The Architect’s laws demanded order; his heart screamed for chaos.
The magnetic engines hummed, a subsonic vibration shaking the platform. The doors hissed shut. She didn't turn.
Kaelen stood frozen in the steam, holding a dozen red crimes, watching the love of his life dissolve into the white void of the unwritten.
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Arrival or Departure
111 words · 2 likes · Permalink
The station smelled of wet wool, stale coffee and cigarettes. I stood at the platform. I had arrived on time,
stayed behind the line,
I did the right things-
chivalrous things.
I stood tall -
patient.
I held the gesture in my hands.
Hands now cold and pricked with thorns.
But my eyes wandered,
my body heated inside my coat.
It was her-
the woman from the bar the other night.
She said she’d leave him and now I was witnessing her making a clean break for it.
My mind told me to stay-
be obedient.
My body edged closer.
I no longer cared about arrivals.
I craved departure.
I craved her!
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After Thirty Years
150 words · 2 likes · Permalink
"You didn't say goodbye."
"You were sleeping."
"Still. Do you have to go?"
"You know I do. The ships won't wait."
"But this was our day."
Marie turned and stepped onto the train. I watched the windows flash by. She was gone. She didn't even take the roses.
My communicator buzzed. I raised my arm and waved open the incoming call.
"It's not forever, just until my shift is over. I'll spend my day directing ships at the Intergalactic Traffic Control Tower and be home in a blink."
"That's too long to wait. What if I'm not there when you get home?"
"You will be."
"I know."
"You got supper?"
"Yeah, I'll have the microwave lasagna ready by the time you walk through the front portal. Just like our first date thirty years ago."
"Love you."
"Love you, too."
She hung up without saying goodbye. We should work on this.
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Cold Case
340 words · 2 likes · Permalink
“Jennifer! Stop, don’t get on the train, please believe me! I love you, I know that your mother disproves of me. I took care of that problem and now you will inherit the estate, we can get married!”
“What do you mean you took care of the problem, John?”
“Well, if she’s not around anymore, she can’t stop us. We can go anywhere we want, any time we choose.”
“Why can’t you just stop this silly time travel nonsense? We live in the real world, just stop it!”
Jennifer turned and walked away, but John grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
“Stop it you’re hurting me, let me go!”
“Listen to me, when you get the money we will live like royalty, I’ll take you places you’ve only dreamed of.”
“Why do you insist on the ridiculous time travel fantasy?”
“Come with me and I will prove it.” Stepping into the street, he hailed a cab.
“Where are you taking me?”
“I’m taking you back to your mother’s house, so you can see for yourself, she’s not there.”
“Mother! I’m back’ I didn’t leave you!”
“Yell all you want, she not here, I took her forward in time and left her.”
“Stop it, John, how can I go with you, you’re insane!”
“Well you’re going with me and there is nothing you can do about it.”
“I did what I had to do, I killed her and now we’re free. I took her into the future and dumped her in a construction site.”
Jennifer tapped her ear and said, “Did you get that?”
“This is control we copy five by five. Bring him back.”
She snapped the handcuffs on him and turned on the neutralizer. “John Ramon Baxter, you are under arrest for the murder of my grandmother, Elizabeth Ann Jennings.”
“What !?!? No, I killed your mother.” “The jokes on you idiot, I’m from the future, and my mother is just a young girl in this timeline.”
The room lit up in swirling colors and slowly faded to black.
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Scarlet Bullet
149 words · 2 likes · Permalink
Whoot-Hoot.
Lana felt the presence. She turned and saw a man clenching a bouquet of roses.
The train rolled into the station, smoke billowing everywhere, concealing him from view.
𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘮𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘳.
Her breath hitched.
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦?
Shrouded by smoke, Lana slipped away, weaving through the passengers. Beyond the station, she ducked behind the wall, heart racing. She peeked around it.
𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦.
She closed her eyes, leaned back, and sighed.
“Lana. Did you think you could so easily evade me?”
Tongue-tied, she shifted, locking a hard stare on him.
“You forgot the flowers I brought you.”
He reached out, petals falling.
𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨.
“You aren’t real, Norman. They sent you to kill me.”
“But Lana, I love you. I could never hurt you. Take the flowers.”
They scattered to the ground, crushed beneath his iron grip.
She recoiled.
“Don’t fear me, Lana.”
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