Category: General Fiction

All Stories, Editor Picks, General Fiction, Latest News, Short Fiction

Week 577: Can’t Teach a Shark to Kill Tofu

ireneallison12

(Elliott the Header Pigeon is on vacation this week. PDQ Peety is filling in and is also  filling  himself with PDQ Pilsner.)

Introduction

I again found myself undertaking the idea of the End of Humankind. Which is not to be confused with the End of the World because that will happen a few billion years from now when the sun dies, at which time it will greatly expand and obliterate everything on out to Jupiter. Like the rabid cur shot dead by Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird a dead sun is still a dangerous sun.

Continue reading “Week 577: Can’t Teach a Shark to Kill Tofu” →
All Stories, General Fiction

Wolf. Normal by Lynne Curry

literallystories2014

The laptop glows in the dim kitchen, blue light flattening the room, turning the window into a black square that gives nothing back.

I drag the computer closer, rubber feet rasping across the table like a warning.

Resurrection Pass Overnight: Intermediate hike: Good fitness required.

The photo at the top of the event listing shows a line of hikers crossing a narrow bridge, green valley opening beneath them, the future open wide.

Continue reading “Wolf. Normal by Lynne Curry” →
All Stories, General Fiction

Confessions of a Digital Nomad by Dan Shiffman

literallystories2014

Inside Saint Anthony’s Basilica in Padua, he turned to his wife and whispered that he had a “confession to make,” darting three steps toward a dark, vacant box.

“You got me,” she whispered back. She still liked his jokes, even after six years together, three as digital nomads. Pointing to her fitness tracker watch, she reminded him that they each had Zoom meetings starting in thirty minutes.

Continue reading “Confessions of a Digital Nomad by Dan Shiffman” →
All Stories, Fantasy, General Fiction

The Scent of Eternity by Susmita Mukherjee

literallystories2014

In the summer of 1997, when most men of his age were discovering the quiet dignity of cholesterol, Gopal Banerjee decided to make a perfume that would outlive death itself. Not metaphorically, he meant it quite literally. “Eternity,” he called it, though Calvin Klein had already used the name. Gopal didn’t mind; he believed trademarks were for those who lacked vision.

Continue reading “The Scent of Eternity by Susmita Mukherjee” →
All Stories, General Fiction

Beside the Dying Ash Tree by Michael Bloor

literallystories2014

Andy put down the phone on his sister, though she was still sobbing intermittently. They’d already been talking for half an hour; he realised that there was no more comfort he could offer, til he saw her tomorrow at the undertakers. And he needed a break to process her news of their father’s death. So, booted and rain-proofed, he headed out the door for a familiar walk beside the river.

Continue reading “Beside the Dying Ash Tree by Michael Bloor” →
All Stories, General Fiction

Happy Point by Sergey Bolmat

literallystories2014

Harry Pembroke, 67, a retired PE teacher came to London from Gobowen. It took him five hours to reach the capital; he had missed one of his connections. He felt really clever though when he arrived to his destination. He had paid for his tickets three months ago, used his National Railcard, and was able to save quite a lot of money with his advance booking: instead of £317 one way which he would have paid had he bought the tickets right before his trip at the station he had only paid £143 return. These numbers kept him warm and happy when he walked out of the train terminal into the cold November drizzle.

Continue reading “Happy Point by Sergey Bolmat” →
All Stories, General Fiction

The Dancing Woman by Bradley J. Collins

literallystories2014

She’s in the middle of the street – a blur, a twirl, of color, this woman with a boombox. She’s not safe behind barricades or idling in a car as the rest of us are. She wears no coat, no makeup, shielded only by her floral dress.

Continue reading “The Dancing Woman by Bradley J. Collins” →
All Stories, General Fiction

The Orange Sash by Harrison Kim

literallystories2014

Sounds burrow in, fill Walsh’s craving mind.  The bus door opens, like a hospital emergency room.  He lunges on board, his orange sash of the Buddhist colours close to his cheek, hiding the scratches and whiskers on his face.  The bus driver doesn’t even flinch, hits the accelerator.  “Their Union tells them don’t get involved,” Walsh thinks.

“This will be my healing ride. Over the bridge to the other side.”

Continue reading “The Orange Sash by Harrison Kim” →