Browse Short Stories

CURLS

“…I don’t know which one of us loses the other.

And I don’t know when it is that we are the most lost…”

Motherly love. There’s nothing like it. Just like there’s nothing like the joy of childbirth.

And the inevitable invisibiilty which follows.

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CHECKING OUT

“…Mary wakes up at 6 o’ clock. She has a shower and brushes her teeth. Sometimes she brushes her teeth in the shower.

It is the most exciting thing she does all day.“

Life is supposed to be dull. Work is supposed to be awful. It’s why they pay you for it. There’s nothing to be done about it. Is there?

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HOMEWARD BOUND

“…The night expected him to die.

But the Mountain Stars were stirring in his fingers. ..”

Everything is always worth a try. The journey upwards, however painful, is always worth it. Especially when there is something you love at the top.

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HONEYCOMB CITY

“…The doorway continues to grow in the night time, when there isn’t enough reality to convince me it’s fake.

We never talk about the night…”

It’s good to know your parameters. To tread all the right routines, even if you don’t have a lot of space. As long as you’re safe, does it matter if you’re free?

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SHADOW WALKING

“…As long as I’m quiet, I can watch her all day. And I am quiet. I am a master of it.

She has no idea that I’m here…”

What if the something you thought you lost had never really left at all?

That would be a good thing, wouldn’t it? A lovely surprise. You only need to prove you can be trusted.

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SIXTEEN QUESTIONS

“…Everything we do is informed by our memories. It affects our whole attitude.

It’s not an anxiety, it’s a national crisis. Global, possibly…”

Mrs Finchley is convinced that somebody is messing with the population. Dr Clarke is not so sure, which isn’t surprising. After all, nobody is going to listen to an old biddie with brain disease. Or even the recording she made of the interview.

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SNAIL TRAILS

“…My counsellor brought in a lady and she was supposed to comfort me in my own language. But the sound of it scared me and it didn’t make sense. I couldn’t make it taste properly on my tongue. Nobody speaks those words to me anymore. Because I have forgotten. I have forgotten it all…”

This story is free. But it was written with the many real cases of refugee children in mind. There is a link provided to the UNHCR donation page if you want to give.

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One

TALES FROM A TRAIN WINDOW: ONE

This is a series of stories each based on one thing I saw from a train window. Sometimes it’s very literal, other times it will probably be hard to see how the story relates to the item at all.

But I promise you, it’ll be in there somewhere.

Item Number One:

A small, tractor style lawn mower, abandoned in the middle of an empty golf course…

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Two

TALES FROM A TRAIN WINDOW: TWO

This is a series of stories each based on one thing I saw from a train window. Sometimes it’s very literal, other times it will probably be hard to see how the story relates to the item at all.

But I promise you, it’ll be in there somewhere.

Item Number Two:

A solitary CCTV camera, aimed at a patch of overgrown nettles…

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Three

TALES FROM A TRAIN WINDOW: THREE

This is a series of stories each based on one thing I saw from a train window. Sometimes it’s very literal, other times it will probably be hard to see how the story relates to the item at all.

But I promise you, it’ll be in there somewhere.

Item Number Three

A perfect blue house, standing all on its own, like a picture transported from a glossy magazine…

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THE INVISIBLE

“…The sexy murderesses and the blood stained butchers, the devils in red tutus and the wolves in suspenders, laugh and frolic in the October moonshine.

They do not see those that walk among them…”

Halloween. All Hallows Eve. Sleep well. And maybe share a thought for those who won’t.

Homeless people are in grave danger at this time of year, and through the winter. This story is free, but there is a link to Shelter provided, if you want to give.

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THE TWELVE DAYS OF JANUARY

“…I look beyond Alex, out of the window.  In the other flat the woman enters. She walks straight into the man’s open arms.

I am overwhelmed with hatred for both of them…”

We are all living the same life, really, under the same conditions. So why do some people just seem always to be doing it a little bit better?

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THE VICE CAPSULE

“…At six o clock on Tuesdays, Sophie and Barry and Elina and Gram brought their motley collection of personal obsessions, and laid them at Dennis’ feet. Each one had been born as a tiny beast, mischievous, but alluring. Now they were huge and terrible and murderous...”

Can you bury an addiction? Dennis hopes so. But at what cost?

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UNMELTED

“…The first time the snow creature multiplied, it managed to spawn a different species.

I started to look forward to it. Not just the snow, the scrappy little sod it brought with it…”

An unconventional friendship, the confiscation of three dog toys, and the rescue of someone, though it’s not always clear who. Oh, and there’s now an owl in the freezer…

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