<description>&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;This is Drabbletober, the podcast of tiny fiction.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Hello, and welcome to Drabbletober. This is an occasional bonus episode, for the first of February, 2026. I'm Elizabeth Guilt.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Your one-hundred word story for the day is: Someone Needs Looking After&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;"Evelyn! Come in!" &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Nan waves her visitor down the corridor, and keeps up her half of the conversation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;"I know! Awful out there... Yeah... That's February for you..."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Nan's delusions are getting worse. But no-one actually comes round now, and these imaginary visits keep her cheerful.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;I head to the kitchen so I don't have to play along. She can't live alone now, but I'm happy looking after her. Except when she hallucinates doctors coming to examine me. I could do without that.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;As 'Evelyn' 'departs', I hear Nan whisper. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;"So sorry about my grandson. His delusions are getting worse."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Take care, everyone, and I'll see you again sometime.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;https://www.elizabethguilt.com/drabbletober/s2-feb1-bonus&lt;/p&gt;</description>

A tiny story for February 1st, 2026.

"Someone Needs Looking After" is a tiny story for February 1st, 2026.

Season 2, Bonus Episode 4: Someone Needs Looking After

<description>&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;This is Drabbletober, the podcast of tiny fiction.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Hello, and welcome to Drabbletober. This is an occasional bonus episode, for the first of January, 2026 and I'm Elizabeth Guilt.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Your one-hundred word story for the day is: January You&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Join the gym. Run every morning. Go vegan. Two yoga classes. Read fifty new novels this year. Drink less. Do dry January! Learn Spanish. Get up early. Journal. Marie Kondo the spare bedroom, the kitchen, the whole house. Maybe try paleo?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Maybe not paleo. Is vegan paleo even possible? Is vegan possible? What the hell do vegans put in sandwiches? &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;The gym is expensive. Running hurts your knees. The yoga is fun, though. You blow dry January on the seventeenth, laughing with Kim over cocktails, speaking in broken Spanish.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Marie Kondo was right. Keep the things that bring you joy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Welcome to 2026! If you are making new year's resolutions, then remember to be kind to yourself. There's plenty of good stuff about the old you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;As a minor point of order, I checked with my reference vegan and she assures me there are plenty of sandwich fillings from the mundane (fake ham) to the grandiose (crispy-fried tofu with lettuce and tomato) via hummus, marmite, avocado…&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Take care, everyone, and I'll see you again sometime.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;https://www.elizabethguilt.com/drabbletober/s2-jan1-bonus&lt;/p&gt;</description>

A tiny story for January 1st, 2026.

"January You" is a tiny story for January 1st, 2026.

Season 2, Bonus Episode 3: January You

<description>&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;This is Drabbletober, the podcast of tiny fiction.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Hello, and welcome to Drabbletober. This is an occasional bonus episode, for the thirtieth of December, 2025, and I'm Elizabeth Guilt.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Your one-hundred word story for the day is: Don't Wake Christmas&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Christmas lies glutted with turkey and mince pies, asleep behind the sofa. A child shrieks with glee, still delighted with a new toy, and Christmas stirs, muttering half-words of whiskey and late-night cocoa.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;A parent begins to gather up the discarded ribbons and wrapping paper, smoothing them out with vague thoughts of next year. They nudge Christmas. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;"You indolent beast, lying there in a smear of cranberry. Entertain us!"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Christmas waves them blearily away.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;"I'm tired. Go and see Hogmanay for your fun."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;And Christmas shuffles off, to nest comfortably among the tinsel and paper chains until Advent.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;I'm actually a big fan of keeping Christmas up till twelfth night, though it's not always easy to keep the festive feeling when January looms with all its back-to-work vibes. Whatever you celebrate - or don't - at this time of year, I hope you're safe and warm, and finding the opportunity to rest.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Take care, everyone, and I'll see you again sometime.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;https://www.elizabethguilt.com/drabbletober/s2-dec30-bonus&lt;/p&gt;</description>

A tiny speculative fiction story for December 30th, 2025.

"Don't Wake Christmas" is a tiny speculative fiction story for December 30th, 2025.

Season 2, Bonus Episode 2: Don't Wake Christmas

<description>&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;This is Drabbletober, the podcast of tiny fiction.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Hello, and welcome to Drabbletober. This is an occasional bonus episode, for the first of December, 2025. I'm Elizabeth Guilt.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Your one-hundred word story for the day is: Last Resort&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Hayley knows it's there. She's known for years, ever since that stupid night when they drank too much vodka, lit loads of candles and slurred Latin incantations. She felt it crawl into her.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Anthony insisted the salt circle would keep them safe - perhaps it did. They woke up, after all.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Sometimes, she feels it stir. When her mother suggests diets. When her boss talks over her. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;She fights to keep it inside. She never drinks, now.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;But in the darkness, the footsteps have been getting closer. There's a hand on her shoulder, another grabs her throat.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;She lets it out.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Take care, everyone, and I'll see you again sometime.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;https://www.elizabethguilt.com/drabbletober/s2-dec1-bonus&lt;/p&gt;</description>

A tiny speculative fiction story for December 1st, 2025.

"Last Resort" is a tiny speculative fiction story for December 1st, 2025.

Season 2, Bonus Episode 1: Last Resort

<description>&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;This is Drabbletober, the podcast of tiny fiction.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Hello, and welcome to Drabbletober. This is episode 31, season 2, for Friday the thirty-first of October 2025. I'm Elizabeth Guilt.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Your one-hundred word story for the day is:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;The Singing of Drowned Sailors&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;by Elizabeth Guilt&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Me dad always told the stories. Strange calms in dark storms, and the hush that fell during the wildest winds.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;"You keep yer head down, lad, and pay them no mind. They'll lure you away, drag you under to join their songs."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;I was half-drowned already when I heard them; frozen and clinging to the mast, not even caring if anyone heard me crying.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Their voices were gentle between the wind's screams.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Heave her to. Turn her round.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;We steered towards the familiar rhythm of the chorus.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;And, drifting ragged grey over the waves, they sang us back to harbour.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Happy Hallowe'en. Today is the final day of Drabbletober 2025. If you'd like to keep up with the bonus episodes throughout the year, make sure you're subscribed to the podcast feed. Thanks for listening, I hope you've enjoyed this year's series of tiny stories.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Take care, everyone, and I'll see you again soon.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;https://www.elizabethguilt.com/drabbletober/s2episode31&lt;/p&gt;</description>

A tiny speculative fiction story for October 31st, 2025.

"The Singing of Drowned Sailors" is a tiny speculative fiction story for October 31st, 2025.

Season 2, Episode 31: The Singing of Drowned Sailors

<p>The podcast of tiny speculative fiction. Brand new drabbles (stories of exactly 100 words) every day during October.</p>

Drabbletober

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