Eldon Woods was dark and quiet as I walked the path from Riordan Crescent to the park. I rarely entered those woods after dark. There were reports of coyotes and, more likely, the risk of human predators. But on this night, I took my daily walk after suns...
A corpulent man dressed in a red suit with an ermine collar stepped off the sleigh onto the roof. The full moon shone brightly on the new-fallen snow and he walked in semi-midday luster to the chimney. He paused at each of his reindeer to give them a pat...
Saturday morning dawned crisp, chilly, and clear, helping bring me to full consciousness more quickly than would usually have been the case. I would have awakened easily enough anyway since my first conscious thought was, It's my WEDDING day! I looked at...
When she was a girl, her world was shaky. Her father had left them and the mother, well, she needed those meds to keep her brain clear. Instead, the mother shoved them down the drain and listened to the gurgle of the disposal. It seemed to match the hush...
Rain rattled on his large black umbrella, as Mark Dexter leaned over the promenade wall. It had pelted down non-stop since early that Sunday morning and looked set in for the day, accompanied by a gusty breeze. Below him, the sand was hardened all the way...
29th of November – Season 3 Solo Magubane tried to relax as the plane made its final descent, making fists with his toes. Solo always flew with flip-flops on so that he could slip them off when he needed to and he needed to now, having never liked this pa...
In my Charles Dickens'. Between wakefulness and sleep, lucid in daydreams of hypnagogia. Of goddesses and ageless mascara worn beneath the skin of a flawless mime. Whispering to me in shadows of sleep. In dreams of homily and petite fleur.With the essence...
The cattle drive was overand the men had drawn their pay –was time to lose those weeks of bluesand to find a place to stay. They wandered past an old saloonbuilt of wood and rusted tin –a place where scamps and saddle trampscame to gamble, drink and sin....
I’m standing next to the sideboard, dusting the ornaments. The light’s coming through the large window. The room has an airy feel about it. I’m holding a big, blue piece of cut glass. It looks expensive. It could be a paperweight. I glance over at Richard...
July 1822... Percy Shelley had been reckless ignoring the storm warnings, and the violent squall would not be outrun. Moments before tumultuous waves engulfed the Don Juan and its sailors, Percy shoved a book of Keat's poems into his pocket. Most appropri...
On Heaven's canvas touching scented braille from cacoon to mariposa emerged blue wings my frail butterfly like a parasol neath rainbow sky feeling God's kiss
It’s that moment when you know you’re being watched; when an invisible hand reaches into your dreams and drags you back to reality. The shock sends your heart racing, the panic intensifying when inner voices whisper, Don’t make a sound, something’s not ri...
“I really despise this couch. Everything about it. You need to get a new one, or I’ll stop coming to these little chats.” “Focus, Daniella,” the therapist’s voice is low and colorless, like a forced kind of calming. “You were going to tell me about that n...
Mom screams. Short and piercing like she’s just stumbled across something startling. Her shriek comes from downstairs. ‘Sounds like she’s in the kitchen but why is she awake and out of bed at this hour?’She screams again, calling my name. ‘She needs me.’...
I have a strange tale for you, a very strange tale indeed. I almost don’t know where to start. I suppose the beginning may be a good idea. Firstly, I’m a writer. I write crime novels, perhaps you’ve read some of them. My name is Rambles, Verity Rambles. O...
