For fifteen years the letter sat beneath the antiquated mail sorter. A clumsy man named Clyde, who would retire three months later (and be buried fourteen days after that), had dropped it and it slid several feet beneath the bulky contraption with the silly name. He thought briefly about retrieving it, but his sciatica was… Continue reading The Past Office
Category: magical realism
Stella’s New Family
Sometimes, your family finds you. The tide is turning. I never remember if it is in or out. But the ocean noises change when the tide turns. I can’t remember who taught me that. Maybe my grandmother? I was named after my other grandmother, Stella. She had had six boys and never knew how to… Continue reading Stella’s New Family
Brian Finds a Journal
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 24 June 1, 2021 It was a Tuesday, and I was running late. The subway broke, so it wasn’t really my fault, except that it was, and it had happened before. My manager and I agreed (more she than I) that I would allow for such happenings by showing… Continue reading Brian Finds a Journal
Death Among the Farmers
A Warrior Waits for Death in a Pub Alexandra sits at a tiny table in the pub for days, drinking endless flagons of mead. She unbuckled her heavy sword hours ago, but she has a notion that it is somewhere under the rickety table. Frequently, Alexandra will hurl some insult or challenge to the others… Continue reading Death Among the Farmers
The Taxi
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 95 The instant I fastened my seatbelt in the backseat, I knew the rumors of an urban legend about a taxi were true. I heard the metallic click, but then there was a louder click from the door. Did the driver lock my door? I look forward… Continue reading The Taxi
Henry’s Heart
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 90 Again, the hooded figure beside me raises his right hand, spins his index finger furiously fast, and reality goes away for several seconds. I can feel myself sliding sideways through space and time. I am like Ebeneezer. But, unlike Dickens’s curmudgeon, my sin hadn’t been greed.… Continue reading Henry’s Heart
The Man on the Stair
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 72 “Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn’t there! He wasn’t there again today, Oh how I wish he’d go away!” Antigonish – William Hughes Mearns. It had been a long, tough day at work. I love being a massage therapist, but some days it can… Continue reading The Man on the Stair
Magic Meadow
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 68 The first several times I took the Chisholm trail south, it was to visit the Barnes & Noble bookstore on 15th Street or Jersey Mike’s Subs that sits on the Central Expressway service road; both establishments have been the recipient of a fair amount of my money over… Continue reading Magic Meadow