16 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY DECEMBER 25-31, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com Short and (Sometimes) Sweet Writers light the way with their wit that only a human possesses. Artificial intelligence thinks in ones and zeros. So did the writers of the stories you’ll find on the following pages. In this case, it was a single zero sandwiched by a pair of ones. The rules of the Weekly’s 101-Word Short Story Contest are self-explanatory. Most of the stories are lighthearted, and not just because writers were required to use the word “light.” Others fell into darkness, but they still lit our judges’ hearts. While reading through the submissions this year, our judges noticed many writers had A.I. on the brain. Better that than having our brain on A.I. -Erik Chalhoub, associate editor Judges: Erik Chalhoub, Annie Cobb, Erik Cushman, Dave Faries and Karen Loutzenheiser. First Place $1.87 By Pat Smith A shaft of December sun spotlighted Sister Flora reading to her fifth-graders. “The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry. ‘One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies……..The End.’” A hand up. “Yes, Tommy.” “At the start, it couldn’t be sixty cents in pennies. That’s a multiple of five. All other coins are multiples of five, so there’s no making eighty-seven.” “Why, I…” “Gotta be fifty-seven or sixty-two.” “Well, Mister Brainiac, how about you write ‘fifty-seven or sixty-two’ twenty times on the blackboard.” “Yes, S’ter.” Second Place Power Move By Peter Hiller On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. As she was just tall enough now to reach the light switch, she was totally enamored with the control it gave her. In a world that seemed almost entirely beyond her control, this was a power moment for her and she loved it. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. Third Place Wiggle Room By Scotty Cornfield Angie thinks I’m a commitment-phobe—afraid to ever commit 100 percent. She’s wrong, but still, she’s my best friend (sorta). Now she’s mad because we were meeting at 2. “No. I said ‘2-ish.’” That fires her up. “You can’t ish everything. You never go all in.” “That’s partially true,” I say. “Partially? What’s your favorite chocolate?” “Semi-sweet.” “Best movie?” “Almost Famous.” “Favorite beer?” “Miller Lite.” “Wow—you can’t even commit to the full spelling of ‘light.’ Everything you do is half-hearted—even your conversion to Judaism.” “What?” “Yeah. I think you like the sound of being Jew-ish.” I grimace. “You’re right—mostly.” 101-Word Short Story Contest Illustration by Annie Cobb
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