Elias never forgot the day. His mother sewed by the fire. His father oiled a saddle. He told the therapist, “I was twelve. I’d been ill. Measles. The fever shifted something. I remember all at once feeling my mother’s presence… Continue Reading
When the zombies appeared, the residents of Halperin Bay locked themselves inside their homes and waited for bullets to solve the problem. But anyone foolish enough to try to shoot the zombies failed, for the bullets simply passed through the… Continue Reading
The ticketing agent looked at me, then down at Perceval, then back at me. Her eyebrows edged up toward her hairline and she opened her mouth. I handed her a small white business card. I am a Service Animal and… Continue Reading
“This woman is a witch!” boomed Reverend Josephus Drage. Reverend Drage, for six months now the vicar of Fellwood, preached fear and punishment — much easier for him than preaching hope and redemption, as they were more fitting to the… Continue Reading
When The Eldest began to pass away, the younger ones sought to take the last light of The Universe which he guarded closely. The Man, The Woman, The Girl and The Boy set off through the darkness, towards the pinprick… Continue Reading
Per tradition and necessity, I am untouched by man. “Aurora?” Sofia asks. “What’s a virgin?” I close my eyes. My head aches. It’s the chlorine. The full moon is the only illumination in the shadowed natatorium. The sacred flame of… Continue Reading
“Grandmother?” Rossa reached for the weathered door. There was no answer from within, but Grandmother was old. She was often sleeping when Rossa brought her supplies. The rough wood slab swung inward at her touch, and she frowned. Grandmother lived… Continue Reading
On the tour boat Funliner, eighty-seven children screamed. “I wish they wouldn’t do that,” Captain Charles said. “The screams echo under the bridges,” Jimmy, the deckhand, answered. “They like the echo.” “It’s annoying. It puts me on edge.” “Plus, they… Continue Reading
That evening, we sat either side of my neighbour Goronwy’s kitchen range. He pronounced my latest batch of scrumpy cider — mysteriously cloudy, both sharp and sweet, with the smell of autumn — almost as good as the scrumpy his… Continue Reading
Joy put the demitasse down a little too hard, slopping foam across the table top. Too much time spent seething, and now the espresso had grown cold. Damn the bosses. Rein herself in, indeed. Power equals responsibility, et cetera, ad… Continue Reading