“Hima da,” Keisho complained in Japanese, collapsing dramatically into a heap on the floor. Katarite tucked the silk of her kimono behind her knees and sank gracefully to the carefully manicured lawn. “Today we speak English,” she admonished the girl,… Continue Reading
Mari Estrela did not close the minimarket. There was no final gesture, no shutter falling, no moment that could be recognised as an ending. She left it running, as one leaves a system in motion not out of trust, but… Continue Reading
The emotional verification protocol activates the moment the consulting room door closes. Dr Marlowe remains silent for three seconds — the precise interval recommended by the WHO-Psy algorithm to prompt self-awareness in neuro-regulated patients. “You may begin whenever you like,… Continue Reading
The oxen steadily trudged through the damp field, turning the soil neatly, while Isidore whistled tunelessly at the reins, only stopping on each turn to tell his two sons, sitting on the back, “Make sure to look out for rocks.”… Continue Reading
Big Sassy had a knack for breaking two things — balls (not the bouncy kind) and hearts. I’d been stationed at Lunar-Oho on mining duty when I first cast eyes upon her magnificence. Hair caked in grease, a pot-belly that… Continue Reading
Minute FourFrank is omnipotent. The city is silent as a mausoleum. Millions shrunken to ashes by the first brutalising impacts, portent of billions more. Explosions tear people up like cartoon characters. Frank rages but the eardrums which might hear are… Continue Reading
Your grandfather promised me the moon when he proposed, but he could only afford Everest. I loved him so much we could have honeymooned at the bottom of a well, but he insisted that our first time would be the… Continue Reading
The waiter asked us if we had been to Du Temps Perdu before. It wasn’t really a question. I think it was obvious we were from out of town. We must have looked like we had wandered in from a… Continue Reading
Final Countdown. “This move will be a fresh start,” Ryan said, as he stared out through the porthole, in their cabin. The once red planet now a superheated landscape, heaped with industrial waste, and enveloped in a thick cloud of… Continue Reading
I accidentally make eye contact on the morning train, which the Trevorite across from me takes as an invitation. “Lovely day, isn’t it?” His dark anime eyes calculate every exposed freckle, mole, and hair on my exposed skin. “It’s raining,”… Continue Reading