MICROFICTION The Forge
Spring 2021
liar By: Joseph Mauceri
He regained consciousness strapped to a chair, soaking wet. The sudden event left him panting and gasping for air. He looked around wildly before his eyes zeroed in on a man standing not ten feet away from him, a wooden bucket in his hand. The stranger dropped the bucket as if he had been caught doing something wrong. “Good,” the stranger began, “you’re awake.” “Who the hell are you?” The man managed to get out, his breathing finally calming down. “Oh, my name doesn’t matter.” The stranger began taking off his suit jacket while walking over to a coat rack. “You’re a hard man to track down Seamus. I guess that’s what hackers are good at, but everyone leaves their fingerprints somewhere. You just have to know where to look.” The stranger finished taking off his coat and hung it on the rack. He began unbuttoning his dress shirt next. “So, if you know who I am you know who my father is,” Seamus said, “you should know this is a bad idea.” “Oh Seamus, Seamus, Seamus,” the stranger continued, “I’ve never had a good idea in my life. Just bad ideas and terrible ideas.” By this point he was topless. He turned back towards Seamus and walked over to him. “This is probably the worst one I’ve had yet.” The stranger put his foot on the side of the chair and leaned over Seamus. He stared into his eyes, a massive grin on his face, mere inches away. Seamus didn’t know what to expect. His
Artwork by Donna Tran
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