February 1st - Garden

The weird flexible barrier once again prevented me from escaping my little world. I could see through it, reach through it, pull things back through it to me but I just couldn’t pass through it to the open expanse beyond. Turning away from the source of frustration I pushed through the leaves and branches that were my playground, not unlike the one The Big Ones played on up in their tower. Mother was capable of getting up there with them but so far I hadn’t been allowed. That was fine though I had plenty to do here! 

February 2nd - In a retirement home

Retirement home is such a dirty word and honestly most of you probably think you can't even take advantage of it. Here at FPS 60+ we work to avoid those terms and allow our fellow Millennials a rest at the bonfire before working on their end game content. We recognize the experience grind, and side quest of our patrons and have tailored our rewards to not just their classes but their professions, hobbies, and crafting skills.

February 3rd - Caught on Camera

If someone were to walk by, and for some reason stop and look through the small window in the door, it would probably take them more than a moment’s attention to realize that there was someone in the server room. The overhead lights were off, status and network lights of the servers not bright enough to provide any real illumination, and the monitor screens had long timed out, except one. 

February 4th - Tragedy

“Tragedy. Disaster. Calamity. Misfortune. Hardship.” The human standing up on stage before the Galactic Relations Committee on Death Worlders. As was the case with all Galactic Committees the members were hidden only outlines that delineated species obvious through the privacy screens. “Each of those words has a different connotation, memory, or event that you and your species think of when they hear them. Some are war atrocities, others, as rare as it is on garden worlds, are natural disasters, and there are plenty of other examples. But as a general rule each species really has one singular event that comes to mind.”

February 5th - A Purchase Gone Wrong

He woke up in an apartment that was not his. The bed was large, the lights were bright, but none of it was his. He could not begin to remember how he had gotten here, or why he would have stayed somewhere he didn’t recognize. The clothes that adorned his body were new, and the whole place just smelled…purified. To say it just smelled clean would ignore the weirdly chemical scent that came from ozone. 

February 6th - a eulogy for an idea or inanimate object

One by one I watched, not as people took their seats but as usernames logged on. Some that I had not seen in years, others who I’d been planning with just weeks ago. I looked at the clock, 5 minutes past our declared start time which was about right for our group. With a deep breath I unmuted my mic.

February 7th - Font

I have not written a story yet for this prompt so this is here as placeholder.

February 8th: An Animal’s Perspective

I have an important job, more so than my roommates, more so than the slouches and bums who just stay at home all day. I am responsible for the big building my human goes to every day. Well nearly every day, some days he just wont let me go out, something like ‘sonday no fonda’ or however he says it. Then he’ll take his foot and block me from going out the door with him, even after he had the audacity to sleep in.

February 9th: A creation

Everyone thinks it's a period, an exclamation mark, a question or quotation mark that ends a story, and while physically that is right it isn't the end of the creation. My creation was a world. Not in a tank, in a tub, or in a computer but a world described in text, in prose, in words. The completion of my world was a comma, simple to miss, but oh so needed from my bad habit of run on sentences. 

February 10th: Peace

“Peace, a time when there is no war, when war has ended. Its tranquil and free from disturbance.” The man sat by a fountain, a few gathered around to listen, but most just passing him by without even a passing glance. To be fair it was hard to actually tell if the man was even talking to the crowd or just one of those who murmured to himself out in public. The attention he was receiving though leaned most that didn’t know what was going on to at least heed the words of the man for another minute or two. 

February 11th: Exhaustion

You have accumulated a point of exhaustion. Current points 3/6.

The notification appeared in my vision, unbidden, unwelcome, and unaffected by my current statuses. Beyond the words in my vision everything was hazy and my eyelids were drooping, and obscuring the majority of my vision. That was the advantage of The System. It didn’t matter except that you were conscious because it was part of your consciousness. 

February 12th: Google Search

*Ding*

There it was, the expected notification that followed most of my searches these days. Oh the joys of being a writer of Murder Mysteries, Terrorist Plots, and other weird more esoteric things. 

Please explain reason for last search. 

February 13th: Work in Progress

“I wana be done! Just tell me what I have to do next.” The young man across from me just hung his head at this point. It was something I had seen a dozens of times before and knew I would see dozens more. Kids who changed majors part way through, kids who came back for degrees to advance after thinking they’d been done with school. Yeah they weren’t all kids, some were legitimate adults but the idea of another full semester of classes, or even another year of classes for those who couldn’t do full time, was enough to bring out the highschooler in anyone.

February 14th: 

February 15th: