Summer Diary // by special guest Daniel G. Fitch

a story about a summer diary, a hiding place, and a secret given light

In youth, Topher had treasured that summer spent at Grandfather’s.

His basement, that musty smell, wearing smooth the second stair from the bottom, devouring the mysteries of the Hardy Boys. There he had placed the pages of his summer diary, knowing (or so he thought) that no-one would find them there.

An adult now, after grandfather's wake, he found a new yellowed page wrapped around his diary of kissing the boy who lived on the corner, hidden between the boughs of the mulberry.

Grandfather's writing. Imagine that gruff voice:

“I loved a man once, too. Don't hide your light, Toph.”

D. G. Fitch is the runner-up in the microfiction contest that The Shortest Story co-hosted with The Story Engine. D. G. Fitch is a DIY punk writer, coder, musician, booster, and abolitionist! Learn more at danielgfitch.com

Short story written by D. G. Fitch

Story prompt taken from a photo by Jonathan Stout