Short Fiction, Poetry and Classic Book Reviews
Holly was good at cricket. Playing cricket on the oval at lunchtime was the closest she had come to making friends so far at her new school. When she played, some of the older boys talked with her and joked with her—no one else ever did. But today she didn't play. She just sat on... Continue Reading →
Holly set down her pencil and shook her hand to loosen the cramp. She looked down at the open notebook before her, its every faint-ruled blue line crammed left to right with large cursive handwriting—neat enough to be legible, but messy enough to keep up with the flow of inspiration. Most of her classmates were... Continue Reading →
The light through the bedroom window was bright and warm by the time Victor woke up. One after the other, his legs dribbled over the side of the bed, and he heaved himself up to sit on the edge of the mattress. He leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees, and massaged his eyes... Continue Reading →
A peaceful minute or two passed; Victor stood leaning against the kitchen bench, while Gary looked around the room with his newly-healed eyes, smiling. After testing out his restored vision, he turned to Victor, whose look was full of thought. Gary lowered his eyes. "You're probably wondering what's going on—all the weird stuff in this... Continue Reading →
Gary stood still for a few minutes, making no sound but the occasional sniff. Victor watched and waited. Finally, Gary climbed up on the chair in front of the sink. "Ready?" asked Victor. Gary nodded. "All right," said Victor. "Lean your head over the sink... That's it. Now turn your head to the side... No,... Continue Reading →
"Fine," said Mr Nately, sitting down. "So you shoot dissenters, rape their daughters, maim their sons—" Josh wailed weakly "—and then there's the prisons. Oh man, the horror stories that come out of the prisons will scare anyone into line." "Prisons?" said the prime minister. "Oh yeah. You wait. Build 'em and let your guards... Continue Reading →
"Okay," said Mr Nately, nodding in thought. "Well, I assume you've been fighting your opposition on matters of policy—tax cuts, health care, immigration—all that sh**?" The prime minister nodded, taken aback somewhat at Mr Nately's flippancy. "Yeah," said Mr Nately. "Well you're wasting your time there. For the average Joe, one political party is as... Continue Reading →
Candace knocked on the door and entered the room; the prime minister stood, and so did Josh. "Prime Minister," said Candace, holding the door open, "may I introduce Mr Nately." Through the door walked a squat man in a grey pinstripe suit. Though he smiled warmly at Candace and nodded in thanks, there was something... Continue Reading →
Through the tall, open windows of the stately office, a glorious beam of morning sunshine flowed—the train of an angel's robe, a beacon of optimism in a bleak world, an oncoming headlight to scare man into the realisation that his days are few and life is worth living. Whatever the metaphor, it was as ignored... Continue Reading →
