Chapter 1 Atticus sat with his friends at Pizza Hut, the atmosphere buzzing with excitement and relief after they had all successfully passed their final exams. The aroma of freshly baked pizza and the sound of cheerful chatter filled the air as they indulged in a well-deserved celebration. Atticus was described as an athletic-built young man with milky white skin, raven black hair styled straight to his shoulders with a...

He really tried his best, but it was impossible. He just could not get interested in the talks and lectures at the ‘Agricultural Innovations For Sustainable Economic Landscapes’ conference, but afterwards, there was drinks and a buffet, deep in Mexico City in one of its most upmarket hotels which was attached to the centre, so that was okay, but his wife loved it. She lapped the whole event up, and he was secretly glad th...

“The settlement of the Czechoslovakian problem, which has now been achieved is, in my view, only the prelude to a larger settlement in which all Europe may find peace. This morning I had another talk with the German Chancellor, Herr Hitler, and here is the paper which bears his name upon it as well as mine. Some of you, perhaps, have already heard what it contains, but I would just like to read it to you. “We regard the a...

Playing truant was always appealing. Always. Two nine-year-olds deep into their school days would always know better than what adults told them. Your years in school were not the best days of your life, and you don’t need to attend classes to get clever to get good jobs. They knew it all, so didn’t need to bother attending, and why do maths lessons and cross-country runs when it was much more appealing to play on railways...

He stared out from behind the glass of a small frame, the picture taken 22 years ago as he stood on a beach, the sea behind him beneath a cloudless sky. She wanted to feel emotion at his passing, wanted to shed a tear, but couldn’t. He hadn’t been a bad husband, and he certainly hadn’t been good, but then neither had she. Yet he had seemed to treat her as though she wasn’t really there. She had been someone he could fall...

He squeezed his eyes tight and placed his palm over his ear in a vain attempt to shut out the noise that felt like a hammer blow to his brain each time it ricocheted into the bedroom. He lay in his bed, in the darkness, facing the window, the warmth of the duvet cocooning him like a caterpillar. Rain lashed the window, and thunder rumbled away in the distance, but the shed door continued to bang away in the wind, and his...

“Don’t wait up for me,” mom said, slamming the door behind her before she could finish her sentence, her voice muffled from the other side.I sighed and grabbed the bag of popcorn from the microwave, the corners hot on my fingers. Muttering under my breath, I tore open the bag and upended it into a bowl, a waft of popcorny, buttery steam hitting me in the face.The movie started as I sat down cross-legged on the old sofa, t...

  You gave me your word. Liar. You said I will be yours forever. Bullshit. You told me we would remain monogamous. I did, you did not. You said you loved me. You love yourself only. I held your hand during your down times. You held another woman. I gave you my heart. You gave me lies. What makes a person do what you did to me? Are you soulless? Have you no shame? The answer lies within your deceit. I will get over you. Yo...

The book on speaking Italian was of no interest to him, despite looking at it with apparent interest. He was in fact, surreptitiously looking through the shelves of books in the library at the computers where he had a good view of what people were looking at on the internet or just in general. Michael Booth was 62 years of age, and looked quite a few years older. He had grey, wavy hair, and was fairly plump. His belt was...

"Attention! May we have your attention?" the voice whispered hoarsely. "Can you hear our thoughts? We are here. We must reach you. Greetings. We are friendly." The man started up from his dead sleep. "What! What the hell! Who's yelling at me?" He jerked his head around and saw nothing, just the glow of the security light coming in through the grill in the door.  "Did you hear us? We are here. Please, we need your help." N...

It was brilliant. In fact, it was genius. He surprised himself at just how great his idea actually was, and it led him to ponder whether or not all great ideas came from the murky depths of a mind fuelled by alcohol. He was fast on the way to becoming drunk, as he certainly wasn’t sober. Did all great philosophers and inventors get their ideas from the shadowy realms of the subconscious? he wondered, presented to them in...

Aikasa woke up from the noise outside her door. Sighing, she got up and opened it. “What?” she asked, wiping the sleep out of her eyes. Akihiro stared at her sister, amusement was visible in his eyes. He shook his head. “Dinner is ready sleepy head!” he grinned. “Dinner?! W-what-” Aikasa stammered, her eyes wide as she threw a glance at her bedside clock. 6:45 o’clock. In the evening. Oh great! She slept all day and forgo...

Telephone poles whipped past her, each separate in her headlights but blurred and indistinct. The girl was traveling north. She drove the speed limit along the two-lane federal highway. Into the night she drove once more. Alone, heading towards the big city. The highway stretched out ahead and ghostly phantoms of imaginary treelines wavered in her peripheral vision alongside her route. Occasionally porch lights shone out...

❣HAMDA❣ "Hey Mum, I am leaving for my interview and will see you in an hour. And don't forget that I love you!" Hamda said. She walked out the door on a bright and sunny Wednesday morning. Today felt like a good day, and she knew that something good would happen.   ~*~ "Welcome to Black Bels Advertising, how may I help you?" A blonde woman sitting behind the desk asked me. "Good morning, my name is Hamda Cale, and I am he...

I can't believe the cheek of him, bold as anything, staring out at me with his stupid face. Well, there's no way I'm putting up with this. No way. I've never liked him, never trusted him. He's smarmy and sly, and now here he is, a face on a poster outside the small Shaftsbury theatre, in the town where I live. He's appearing in a pantomime in a kid's play for God's sake. This man killed an old woman in a drunken hit and r...