Category: Short Story

Six Word Story (96)

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I am a woman who deals in words and I know their power.

Do you?

They have the power to heal and hurt.

Sometimes they stick like tar that creeps into every crevice, becoming impossible to wash away.

What do we do with such words?

I wash with prayer.

What do you do?

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Six Word Story (94)

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Control.

How often do we reach for its illusion, holding on to shadows without mass?

Control.

How often do we abuse its power when entrusted with its care?

Control.

How often is it a burden that slowly crushes us?

Control.

It’s one of those things that many of us long for in aspects of our lives that it’s just not possible to attain. Still, we strive.

Control can be necessary. It can be a blessing. But the need to hold it ‘always’ can be a slow death.

Control.

How do you learn when to hold on and when to let go?

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Underground United/Off Topic Publishing

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I have been waiting for months to be able to share this publication with you. I am so thrilled and excited to announce that on October 31st my short story ‘Underground United’ was published in the Wayward and Upward anthology of stories and poems.

I am honoured to stand alongside so many other talented and hard-working writers and poets. The diverse backgrounds of the writers who were selected is exciting, the content is stunning, and the hard work by the publishers to make this project happen will not be forgotten.

The forty pieces in this book unite two creative endeavours at the heart of humanity: making music and telling stories. Each writer took inspiration from one of the ten tracks on the Wayward & Upward album by Spinoza Gambit. This anthology collects one short story and three poems for each track, showcasing the variety of interpretations a single piece of music can evoke.

– Wayward and Upward description –

Off Topic Publishing has played an important role in my personal growth as a writer, and now as well in my published career. The staff and Editor are all amazing individuals and I am so grateful to them for their hard work, and dedication to Canadian literature and excellence. I encourage any writers out there to connect with them and enjoy the community they are growing around the written word.

They have a monthly contest that is worth checking out and entering if you are a growing writer. The entry fee continues to be affordable and each entry receives feedback from the judges. I have never won this contest but several of the pieces I entered have gone on to see publication elsewhere. The feedback I received was encouraging, as well as important to my later success. Thank you to those judges!

Wayward and Upward is available for purchase directly from the publisher, as an ebook or in print form. Find it by clicking one of the links above or by visiting my own bookshop and following the links provided there.

Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Six Word Story (93)

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Fruit that is not harvested will fall.

Produce that is not consumed, will spoil.

This is natural.

Not evil.

When they fall they feed the earth by nourishing its smallest creatures.

It’s not their fault if we didn’t have space, time, or the desire to make use of them first.

But…

What about when people fall?

Decay kisses everyone.

Still, it’s not evil. But maybe it is wasteful.

Have you harvested yourself? Used your potential?

I may not be to everyone’s taste, but I am worth harvesting.

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Six Word Story (92)

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They are designed to blend in. Placed under ledges and hidden corners.

Their messages wind their way through humanity’s busy crowds and we follow them, without realizing they are there.

It’s time to stop, look, and notice. Pay attention and use discernment.

Am I really following the right path?

Maybe we are and maybe we aren’t. Perhaps that answer is different for everyone… I don’t know. I think it’s okay not to know. But it’s still important to ask.

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Titles by Mary Grace van der Kroef

Six Word Story (91)

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Do you wear your heart on your sleeves?

Are you an open book to family, friends, and even strangers?

Some might view this as a bad thing, but is it really?

An open and honest heart is a beautiful thing. It means there is natural trust flourishing inside. The gates are not closed. A guard and a lookout are always important things to place at an entrance, and it takes practice to get the balance of open and careful right. But someone who can trust, someone who can share… Their halls are filled with light and trust me, a warm welcome doesn’t mean there aren’t exciting mysteries to discover while getting to know them.

I have often been called an open book in the past, but I found myself losing that natural trust in the last few years.

Today my prayer is we would all learn to once again open our gates and trust.

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Six Word Story (89)

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Was it an earth tremor, or children that climbed the wall day after day, waking its lines high above their word, dreaming of possibilities?

Was it the steady drip of rain that pooled in a crevice, then froze night after night, expanding, pushing the bricks, forming a hairline crack?

Was it overlooked?

Was there someone there to notice as the crack widened, allowing more and more water to pervade its strength?

There is no evil in the steady flow of time, or rain. Nor is it wrong for children to chase dreams. Life wares.

But, even strength needs to be maintained, supported, and repaired.

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Titles by Mary Grace van der Kroef

Six Word Story (88)

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How does the environment affect our perception of the world?

Weather we want to admit it or not, it often plays a key role. This can be a good or bad thing.

Awareness.

Boundaries.

Bravery, to face the things we can not change.

Understanding we are also part of the environment, and we touch others just as they touch us.

Knowing our perception doesn’t always equal truth, but is still an important part of understanding.

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Titles Available by Mary Grace van der Kroef

Six Word Story (87)

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Sundown, a time of glorious beauty. An ending.

Endings can feel so scary, final, even deflating. But they are also a time of transition. Where one thing ends, something else begins.

I wonder if that is why God placed so many circular patterns within creation.

To give humanity hope that where we end, he continues.

Where life ends, it also begins.

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Six Word Story (86)

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Some say Mother Earth and Father Sun. If that is so, then I see Earth as the flirtatious one.

She dances through the nether in living finery of every shade.

I wonder what the rest of the galaxy thinks of her?

She is far from the most powerful. But she is a home, a place to rest.

She is neither tame nor safe. Even so, we cling to her for dear life, pressed to her bosom.

Father Sun is ever her constant companion, unmoving. He lets her dance. Ever patient.

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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