At Bronwig’s bookshop there's a notice on the door, in red capitals: IN LIQUIDATION. It’s devastating. I’d been a customer since I was too small to see more than the top of Mr Bronwig’s head behind the counter. His hair was white, even then; delicate as c...
My storybook lover is romantic, he would never hurry his sweetheart in a love scene, but tonight I want him to... "Make love to me, darling. In one hundred words or less." "Micro fiction?" "Yes." "Get your skirt off then." I begin slowly undoing the butto...
Once upon a time, in a long forgotten land, there lived a young woman whose name struck fear into even the bravest of hearts. She lived in a tiny cottage at the edge of a deep forest, near an old dried up creek. Her name was Arwyn. Please indulge me as I...
Alicia struggled to balance the bag of groceries as well as her handbag while trying to unlock the door to her apartment. The key slipped into its slot but refused to turn. She gripped it tighter and twisted hard, cursing softly as she felt the metal give...
Not so very many years ago, I decided it was time for a change of holiday destination. Every December, for the past fifteen years, we had flown to Munich for the Christmas markets. How I love those visits. For the summer holidays, however, we always staye...
Alarm buzzes without warningThere must be some mistake, I hit the snooze buttonIt’s too soon to be daybreak.Yes, morning has brokenSo I raise my weary head. Mumble a hasty prayerBefore I stumble out of bed.Wrapped in a toweling robeOn achy legs I shuffle...
A friend of mine is having a hard time. His no love, no job, no idea what to do with myself state is getting to him. Hope is on the horizon. I'm absolutely sure of this for him. Why, because he's my friend and my love does wonders. In the meantime…Blah, b...
It was the exhilarating time when the clouds were billowing and gathering for the storm, the trees swayed in the eerie wind and the air was fresh and cool; just like the weather I was used to in England. It was such a relief after the Mexican dry season....
Ten years on the force and this was the case no one ever wants to get. I stared at her photo and imagined the life she must have lived. So young and beautiful. Now lost as I stepped around the stream of blood flowing as slow as a turtle into a red pool be...
My neighbors, I imagine, know me as that guy who stands in the middle of the street for no apparent reason. Is he okay? they probably wonder. Perhaps someone should call 911 Okay. It’s a little embarrassing, but I’ll take the hit Trees block our windows;...
July’s midsummer heat stuck. It stuck to the blades of grass. It stuck to Sumire’s beige romper. It stuck to everything and anything like a sweltering bog. Sweat drenched her underarms as she set up her easel and foldable chair. Even at her elevated vanta...
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...
“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...
October 27th, 1814, and the wind blowing over the clouded northern moors had winter on its breath and darkness in its heart. Rustling over the heather, hissing through the bracken before moaning down the slopes of the natural bowl which couched the still...
“Aw Mom,” whines Jeremy. “Do I have to take history? I hate history.” “Yes, you must take it this term.” “But history always leaves...” Jeremy thinks, “a bad taste in my mouth.” “I know dear, but we all have to do some things that are unpleasant at times,...
