99-word fiction – The stranger
The stranger stepped in out of the rain. He wore a trench coat, hat and looked like he needed a gun. He ordered a double whisky. He removed his hat and his wet face shone with the light from the bar mirror. The old men playing poker at the corner table ignored him with straight faces. The barman cleaned glasses with a cloth. The stranger sipped his whisky.
He kept his coat on and wrapped it tighter around himself, as if he could keep the world’s evils from getting in.
Or to keep his own evils from getting out.




