Latest Fiction
Before The Pearly Gates Picked
It is as well to have a firm belief of where you are going! (243 words) ...
A Flag of Convenience Picked
...and an unpaid bill ...
Fluency Picked
Deja vu. - (Flash fiction, 400 words) ...
Ralph Monkton Lives! Picked
This is an almost true story, at least eighty five percent factual! ...
If I Was A Rabbit
My ears twitched, and for a moment I thought I might be a rabbit, but no such luck - it was on account of an echo. An echo that bounced and tunnelled into my head and dilated my pupils with its urgency ...
Fifty Words
I have tasked myself to create one of these per week. I allow exactly 50 words. ...
Banged up a-broad
Fiction- Title is a little play on words here with 'abroad'. This slang term became common around 1912 and by 1914 “broad” was being used, among other things, to refer to a prostitute, thus a pimp's “meal ticket”. The idea came from the US allowing passports holder to change gender. It is rought around the edges and will need help. Standing in line after a long flight, making slight clothing adjustments to himself after the ...
The coffee mug
An award ceremony. A scientist, also the awardee, was talking about the importance of thinking from outside the comfort zone; popularly, it is known as out-of-the-box thinking. He shared many examples which had helped him get to the bottom of the invention for which he was awarded. The discourse, followed by a standing ovation and a high tea, was to become a topic of discussion for a long time to come. In between, when the ...
Pistols at Dawn Picked
To the bitter end.- (Flash fiction, 350 words) ...
Kai Tak
Those were the days ...
Unmunched Slice of Life
Only one tar-road cuts across village and meets the downhill Nir’s grocery-cum-cottage housed idiosyncratic wife. All knew how his melting body & drudge made two sons as seasoned Manager, Professor, and daughters in well-settled family. Hardships started intensified while all four children scattered and living in far-away places. In last lockdown one-man army, Nir continued public services, and once doomed to the virus. As children failed to attend the funeral, villagers paid tributes and executed ...
Survey
It was my first egress for weeks. I wore a mask, I reeked of hand gel and I kept twice the recommended distance from the next human being on my way to the local shop. That wasn’t an issue once inside. I was the only punter there. I picked up my paper. At the till, behind the plastic barrier, behind a face shield, behind a surgical mask, the newsagent invited me to use the payment ...
You can’t win them all.
A short fantasy that could have happened in our camp in 1946. This is my return to the site after a long absence ...
Fate and Fatima
It requires someone with balls to defy the Sultan but none of the chaps around here are up to the task. He made sure that they didn't have any ideas of consorting with his wives and concubines by castrating the lot. I have managed to escape the eunuchs' fate by a clever ruse. I smuggled myself into the harem dressed as a woman so ugly that he wouldn't have dreamed of making a pass at ...
The Gigolo
Posing of such magnitude took a great deal of effort. Paul made it look easy, unstudied even. The arm draped across the back of the chair; legs crossed at the knee; languid hand, palm down. But the strain showed in the eyes. It was a mistake to close his eyes whilst his head tilted to face the sun. There was puffy discolouration, visible at that angle, beneath both eyes. I’d never seen him take ...