I saw the sunset blazing like fire. It was beautiful, with its warm reds, oranges, pinks, purples and blues.

Splashes of yellow here and there dancing like flames between burning logs as the clouds drifted by

The wind was biting, but somehow there was wa…

Maybe it's the blissful fulfillment I see in others' smiles,

or the way they've reached their goals ahead of me,

but I feel crabby tonight.

.

Perhaps it's the way that children won't listen to me,

or the way it seems everyone around me is spouting nega…

The old man sits at the bar in Connoly’s Pub. In one hand he holds a pint while the other gesticulates, waiving through the air like a conductor whose music is found in the rhythm of language and stories of the old country.

A small crowd has gathered …

"You know, I work over in the cybernetics lab at ArtHume."

Great. He was following me. I angled for my ancient car, a converted antique gas guzzler now outfitted with an electric motor that hiccuped sometimes. I yanked on the door handle, pretending not …

"You are swift, indeed, young Peregrine," the queen said, her eyes betraying her concern, "but I fear that not even speed such as yours will save you."

"I am strong, too, your majesty," his tone was all deference, yet his words were not.

"Strong indeed,…

Detective Hawk reached a gloved hand to the light switch. In the moment before the room was bathed in light, she braced herself for a scene of unknowable atrocity. It was not difficult to kill a muse, they are quite delicate, but at times the results can …

Malika pushed off from the ground, slowly rising to her feet. The pain in her shoulder FLASHED a hot red, and for a moment she was sure she was going to pass out. Black spots floated in front of her eyes, and an overwhelming nausea flooded through her mid…

Malika pushed forward with single-minded focus. She would complete her task, with Orthael's help or without it. It mattered not to her which way the work at hand was done.

She passed through the clearing where moments before she had just performed her ba…

I dreamed of my 17 year-old self. I dreamed that she got the boy of her dreams and that he made her laugh and that she grew comfortable with him. Everything was perfect, from their words to their date locations and the movies he picked, and even the way t…

I walk in its shade, its shadow. The sun cowers meekly behind the imposing monolith, a testament to society and order. My footprints lie vaguely in my wake, brushed by the desert winds. My parched throat longs for relief; my legs wail and gnash in pain. W…

For weeks, the nightmare has been the same. The way the child's head snapped back, the scream of the mother as she cradled the lifeless form. For days I didn't even know if it was a boy or girl.

The officer's gun. It was an impulse move. I saw my torment…

The cell door slammed open. Kerr looked up, and locked eyes with his brother. "Gierard," he growled, contemptuously.

Gierard's voice, by comparison, gave no indication of any emotion at all. "When I ascended to the throne..." he began.

"Usurped!" Kerr…

"Sensei," I knelt and bowed low, forehead touching the mat before the master. I sat up and he regarded my face and my demeanor.

"What troubles you, child?"

"I keep trying and failing to execute my new move."

"What makes it new?"

"I've been adding an e…

"Wait, so, she ran away from her husband into the arms of another man. That's adultery," concluded Sonia.

"But, her husband was raping her. He only sees her as a possession he's entitled to by law," argued Monica.

"Ew. I'd run away, too. Can't she get a s…

"What's your sign?!"

"Piss off, Elise."

"All hands, prepare for atmospheric entry."

It was a warning, not an order. The crew had been prepared for at least an hour.

Armored Infantry Captain Danielle Freiz was thoroughly annoyed, because her entire squad was late.

In fact, she wasn't even sur…

"Why the movies?" Everett sounded bewildered.

"I don't know where to tell you to go, but don't go straight home. Go somewhere public. Or go somewhere and get lost. She could follow you. She probably has your license plate number."

"Great."

"How did she…

I saw God today.

At lunch time.

Surfing on the back of a lorry.

I was crossing the footbridge over the main road between the office and the supermarket when a figure caught my eye. He was laughing, his long hair streaming behind him in the slipstream,…

"Uh, ok."

He sat down. Normally he would have walked a bit first to avoid cramps. The blond girl served two small slices, chocolate with chocolate frosting. That was a thirsty combination. He accepted the plastic plate and fork gingerly, taking a sticky b…

The doctor stood at the center of the Operating Theatre, examining his surgical instruments. Beside him, the body of a young man with fair hair and milky skin lay draped in a white sheet. The doctor looked briefly at the body before looking up at the in…

As I returned home, I was stunned to see that my house was full of lights and sound of merriment. The wedding that had called me away scarce had as much excited activity. It had only been eight days or so but even from the road, I could see the house was …

The ceiling lights cast yellow pools of light, but did little to keep the space from feeling gloomy and deserted. Huge constructions of steel loomed silent and dark in the vast hangar space.

The stillness was interrupted by the opening of a door at the f…

Open the bag, use your best scoop.

Prepare your keyboard and your mill. Each bean is a notion, an image, a memory. An inspiration.

Grind the words in bursts, then pour the fragmented syllables, letters, and phonemes into the basket.

In goes the hot water…

No invitations went out, none that I sent or saw anyway, but as the summer waned, travelers began trickling in. They stopped by with reasons to suit the individual: curiosity, rest, even for a cup of tea. They stopped and then they were gone. Each time my…

A lifeless void. This place was had no life to be seen. None she could feel. All that remained of it were traces of life... momentos from a long forgotten past. The feeling that something had once lived here. The memories of light. The only thing that liv…