The Snow Came Down

THE CRASH OF thunder shocked me from sleep. It rolled around the mountains well after rousing me, leaving me in no doubt as to why I was awake. Everything else was hazy though; afternoon naps do that to me. They leave me groggy and disorientated. Slowly, as the thunder rumbled, it all came back. Read More …

THE LATE MRS. CARTER

POLICE LIEUTENANT COSGROVE INTERVIEWS MRS. WESTON

“Thank you for coming in again, Mrs. Weston. I just wanted to go over your statement of yesterday. Just to clear up a few inconsistencies if that’s alright?” Read More …

A SIMPLE CONVERSATION # 6: JENNIFER

THE SCENE: The home of Dave and Jennifer Brown, childless married couple. Jennifer and her best friend, Julie, are going through their weekly ritual of sharing a wine at the kitchen table after some shopping. Read More …

DÉJÀ POO

I STOPPED MID-MOTION while putting the garbage from the aftermath of the barbecue in the bin. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and something akin to a cold shiver washed over me from head to toe. This wasn’t the first time. In fact, it happened every time I had a déjà vu experience. This one was a subset of those experiences. I called it jokingly, déjà poo: the strong feeling that this shit had happened before. I paused to analyse this feeling of familiarity. Read More …

THE WILL

I looked around the room at all the sad, tearful faces present. I wasn’t surprised at all by their grief. My husband, Dave, had been a terrific father, successful businessman, great supporter of our community, and a loyal friend. Read More …

ANOTHER LOVE: FINAL JUSTICE

Kevin McDonald stood impatiently at the arrivals concourse at Chicago’s O’Hare airport waiting for his little brother to arrive from LA. During a scan of the faces of the incoming passengers he caught sight of his reflection in a pane of glass and realised that he looked as haggard as he felt. He’d only managed about four hours sleep in the two nights since the email had arrived from his father. The email that proved the estrangement he’d felt for years toward, not only his father, but his little brother, was based on a lie. The feelings of guilt, remorse, and a terrible sadness for the lost years that could never be retrieved, was eating him alive. Read More …

Sophie’s Dilemmas

The look my husband, Dave, gave me as I
walked through the garage battered into the confidence and determination I’d felt mere seconds before.

I’d been loaded for bear and fully prepared for a strenuous confrontation before that look. Now I was back to confusion and self-reflection. All due to that expression on his handsome, familiar face. Read More …

The Seven Deadly Sins: Rage

Dave always keeps his promises. He drove home from work slowly, pondering the sad state of his marriage. Things were bad enough that a normal man would have requested a divorce long ago. But Dave wasn’t a normal man. Read More …

A Joke – The Vandemonium Sequel

After reading Agena’s original classic and all the sequels I could find, I have to say, I found them generally unsatisfying. None of them went far enough to satisfy my sense of justice except Tx_Tall_Tales, which, believe it or not, went too far for my taste. Yes, I have boundaries! If you share my world view, then I hope you enjoy my addition. Read More …

Another Prisoner At The Bar

THE SCENE: A COURTROOM IS SET UP to make the inhabitant of the dock feel isolated and intimidated. Its positioning made somewhat of a lie of the legal concept of innocent until proven guilty. It is set as far from anyone else in the room as the space permits. In particular, it’s a long way from where its occupant’s defence counsel, sometimes their only friendly face, inhabits. It is positioned at the foot of the raised platform where the stern looking judge sits, looking down at them. Read More …