HOME, WAR AND DOGS - 3,507 words - Drama/Thriller/Magical Realism 

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Themes of trauma, stress and ambition through four unique, short stories.

 

In "Trenches", a WWI era private named Anton tries to protect his mother's best cake recipe as he trudges through the battlefield. "Best Friends" finds Telly and Miguel, two low level criminals ruminating on life before a heist that could make or break their careers. In "Flinch", Jacob, an Iraq war veteran returns home from work to find his front door unlocked, triggering a PTSD episode that takes us through key moments in his life. "Doggy" is a condensed account of a relationship told through an unusual, singular moment of stress - Marla and Derrick are locked in a hotel bathroom with a menacing doberman trying desperately to get in. All four stories throughout are told with a blunt elegance - tonally dark and starkly real, even when dipping into the absurd.