“Turn that off!”
The dog nudged his elbow for a little attention
“You don’t like NY1?”
“Of course I do, but we are still in pre-game mode”
“Oh yeah?” she replied playfully.
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A New World by Peter O’Connor
“Is that all?” she asks.
He offers her the strap of woven hessian. She runs it through her fingers feeling the soft weave.
“All natural materials,” he says, “natural colouring, as strong as steel and 98% recyclable.”
“What about the buckle bit?”
“The ratchet.”
He hands her the item. She turns it and lifts the bar. The click is sharp and staccato in the over stuffed office.
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A Left-Handed Woman by Ann Harper Reed
Frank noticed the couple when the Antique Collective shop doorbell clanged. Even to this day, he expected to see his wife June pass through that door as the bell reverberated. The couple came inside. She a bit mousy and dressed with some expense to look like she shopped at thrift stores; he was in expensive clothes meant to look expensive with a smartphone glued to his ear. They were the kind of patrons the collective needed to survive. They were the kind to admire his craftsmanship, while still needing furniture and having the revenue to purchase.
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The Music of Lana Jardine by Harrison Kim
Lana Jardine always told me she’d be taken in the rapture, when God would gather up true Christians just before the apocalypse. She accepted Jesus as her Lord and Saviour, so she’d never burn in hell. “I confessed my sins,” she said. “And he saved me.”
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A Hell of a Story Part 2 by Frederick K Foote
To whoever has the misfortune to find and listen to this recording, this is not a hoax, joke, or the results of delirium, hallucination, or a fevered drug dream. My name is Oslo Jennings, and I’m a 64-year-old victim of a fatal heart attack while driving. My medical records at the San Juan Medical Center document I was dead for 4 minutes and 33 seconds.
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Literally Reruns-They Always Welcomed Visitors by Mariam Saidan
As advertised, our stories come from all over the world. Although most are from the West due mainly to this being an English language site, we are often given sensitive, intelligent glimpses into the mores of various cultures. Still, when you get to it and remove all the traditions, we are all human and hurt much the same.
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Week 405 – Using Sexism, Using Capitals And Using A Funny Looking Dog With A Big Black Nose.
I had a wee ‘conversation’ with James McEwan a couple of weeks back in our anniversary post and this got me thinking on one of my huge bug-bearers – Double standards.
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The Village by Gene Bray
NYC 1978. Just got here from Ohio, to be an actor.
Confession. To be a movie star.
I get a single room on West 22nd st. It’s 15 by 8.
So I put the bed in the basement and get a mattress that stands against the wall. A folding table and chairs
Voila. It’s roomy.
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The White House at the End of the Lane by Tom Sheehan
Dimac looked again and the white house at the end of the lane was pale yellow. He tried to find a simile, then a metaphor, and was lost in the miracle before him. The change had happened in the blink of his eyes, and it unnerved him so that he closed his eyes, waited for the white shingles to settle back into place, become their proper selves, as if he could say that about shingles, and opened his eyes.
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A Hell of a Story by Frederick K Foote
I’m in Southside Park sitting on a bench at 7 am Saturday watching five Southeast Asians fishing in the pond that we locals have promoted with the title of “Southside Lake.”
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literally stories 