The world was nothing more than a child’s play set. Cars were toys, people little action figures. Skyscrapers were made from building blocks. Is this the view that birds have? I wondered, pressing my face against the old, discolored glass. Yes, I could imagine that I was a bird, singing, flying high above, feeling the… Continue reading Small World
Category: Flash Fiction
Nowhere
Ishmael paused on the boundary of everything there had ever been. His ship slowed to a standstill. Through the viewport, thousands, millions, hundreds of millions of stars crowded together as if vying for room on the dark canvas of space. Goosebumps ran up Ishmael’s arms. He could be the first being to ever lay eyes… Continue reading Nowhere
Time
It’s always advancing. I’m always running. I know I’m not fast enough, but it’s the last thing I can do. Across the centuries, every mortal has run from this. I can almost see them as whole galaxies zip past my viewport. They plead and beg and trade, all for one thing: more. More life. More… Continue reading Time
An Unusual Sort of Hitchhiker
My car’s interface warned me about the hitchhiker when I was still a mile away. I could picture it right then: some young student dressed in flashy clothes who had wandered just a little too far from the city in a drunken stupor, maybe stepped into a stranger’s car and was offloaded here on the… Continue reading An Unusual Sort of Hitchhiker
Old Friends
In a single moment, Sariah’s life went to ruin. Morning light tried vainly to filter through closed blinds in the dusty, cramped room, but Sariah didn’t need illumination to know something was missing. She stared dumbly at the empty space in the nook that held her most prized possessions, not comprehending and yet fully understanding… Continue reading Old Friends
An Unexpected Gift
Something is clawing at the back door. Even after months of living on my own, I still jump at any unexpected noises. It’s stupid, but there’s no one to see me do it, so I guess it doesn’t really matter. It only takes a second for my brain to rationalise the noise: it’s Pepper, wanting… Continue reading An Unexpected Gift
Going Home
A wailing alarm jerks me instantly awake from a dream—a very pleasant dream too, I may add. Equal parts fear and excitement rush through me. I mean, the alarm can only mean two things, right? One: something has breached the hull of the ship and I’m about to die. Awesome. Or, two. . . Something… Continue reading Going Home
Starting Over
Isabelle stared at the vast, bustling city sprawling out before her. She’d seen the pictures, she’d read the blog posts, she’d pored over the travel guides, but this. . . It was like an ant colony, she decided. All of those little people down on the streets, driving about in their cars and taxis, were… Continue reading Starting Over
Misguided Ghosts
When Victor opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a crying child. His feet instantly carried him towards the poor soul, a little girl no more than five years old hugging herself as she knelt on the pavement, her light brown pigtails bobbing with her sobs. Victor checked for oncoming cars as he… Continue reading Misguided Ghosts
A Deadly Dance
Feet moved in perfect time. Even if there had been no music permeating the air with a steady beat, the rhythm would have been obvious in the perfectly executed movements. Despite the rigidity of the timing, the dance was fluid and beautiful, not remotely stiff. One could be entranced by such a sight, thought Joan… Continue reading A Deadly Dance