The massive metal door stood before him. Engraved on it were scenes from around the world, windswept plains and towering mountains, sprawling cities and rural villages. As his hand pushed it open, Arlan admired the engravings. He was an adventurer,… Continue Reading
Tara was just returning to work after lunch. She’d eaten a turkey sandwich, drunk her lemon iced tea, and walked six laps around the park before watching the ducks for the final five minutes of her one-hour break. The same… Continue Reading
My grandmother’s last breath was a struggle. “She died last night,” the neighbour came knocking. “It wasn’t a pretty sight. Poor sod, gulping for air like that.” I called her “grandmother” even though she was not. She had taken me… Continue Reading
Oscar stood in the atrium of the central branch of the city library. It was midnight and the only illumination came from amber lights along the walls and the red Exit signs, creating a surreal glow. Oscar inhaled the slight… Continue Reading
One of the most notorious episodes in the Aleph Club’s history of course was the time it agreed to purchase an infinite library from a mysterious South American salesman passing through on business. “It will be just like that time… Continue Reading
Four is the number of gunmen who enter the library where she’s taken her son for story time. Four is the age of her son, who will soon be five, if he lives through this day. Four is the number… Continue Reading
Everyone has the potential for violence. You’d be amazed, really. There’s the girl stripping wings off tiny white moths behind the building where her dad beats her mom, or the nurse who screams obscenities at her roommate after a shift… Continue Reading
Charlotte sank her pitchfork into the fragrant compost and daydreamed of libraries — the old-fashioned sort, lined with yellowed tomes of liver-spotted pages and fragile leather spines that crackled against her palm. As data technician officer for the colony on… Continue Reading
The girls in the library have an ongoing competition: strangest thing ever found between the pages of a returned book. There’s the predictable — novelty bookmarks, unsent postcards. The disgusting — toenail clippings, hair, an old slice of toast. The… Continue Reading