Our local newspaper, the Simi Valley Acorn, just concluded a competition in which readers were invited to submit original works of fiction on any subject, with the stipulation that stories comprise no more than 100 words. And to the voice from the back of the class, no, not including the title.
I decided to accept the challenge.
My entry, which appears below, did not win or receive honorable mention, but I enjoyed the exercise of creating a story of highly finite length:
A SIGH IS JUST A SIGH
Kayla slumped into her armchair, inhaled deeply, then let out a long sigh. Nothing was right with the world. She’d been ghosted following her most recent first date, her supervisor was riding her hard, and her mother was, well, her mother.
At Kayla’s feet lay Sebastian, her Boston Terrier Mix. Sebastian had just been fed, enjoyed a drink of water and relieved himself as trained on Kayla’s balcony.
Sebastian inhaled deeply, then let out a long sigh. All was right with the world.
Maybe I'll enter again next year.