It would take her ten steps to cross the grocery store parking lot, but Claire stopped after four. That was when she saw them, neatly folded in the carts of every other shopper, the tidy preparations of the diligent. Bags.… Continue Reading
Mark looked up from his coloring project on the floor as Mother walked into the kitchen. “I need to start cooking supper now,” she told him. “So go lie down for your nap. And be very quiet when you go… Continue Reading
Howling in rage, Zephaniah Twinkle hurled his wand at the crumbling, leather-bound Trollpuddle’s Compendium of Arcane Spells and Ritual. Sparks flew as burnished oak bounced off faded pages of vellum. Zephaniah wrinkled his nose, inhaling the sickly stench of rotting… Continue Reading
Slipping down the stairs of the three-story, fifteen-bedroom Victorian bed and breakfast, Oscar hears chatters in the dining room where early risers are already having breakfast. One of his many freak talents is dialing in on conversations in noisy places.… Continue Reading
He ran into the Oval Office in a mad craze. Much to the President’s surprise, he manically stumbled to the desk and cried, “Mr. President, Canada was just annihilated. It’s gone!” As he wept while cradled in a ball, the… Continue Reading
Rick Sanderson’s resignation was spectacular. Ten years to the day since becoming a City trader, in the middle of a senior staff meeting arranged to discuss recent losses by the London office, he was asked how his team was going… Continue Reading
Furious and cloaked in the silvery light, I change. With an itch that grows to a burn, coarse hairs push their way up through my skin like worms in a flooded graveyard. I dare not scratch, for unbidden keratin oozes… Continue Reading
April hated her name with a vengeance, and the reason was simple. On the first day of her namesake month — the month of her birth as it so happened — she was inevitably the target of every wannabe prankster’s… Continue Reading
“‘Pretty as a picture, no need for brains!’ Daddy always said.” Dora preens at her reflection in the bistro’s art deco mirror, “Well, now I look pretty smart too, don’t I?” Her own joke slides by unnoticed. “Yes, you do.”… Continue Reading
The Times — Tuesday December 12 Humpty Dumpty Eggstraordinary gentleman A short while ago, a socialite and personality of almost mythic repute, Humpty Dumpty, died suddenly in a tragic accident. Many remember him fondly, but none can recall when they… Continue Reading