Drip, Drip, Drip
Nobody would believe me about the drain. About how I got sucked right in with the bathwater, swirling down, down, down the slimy pipe until I landed in shallow sludge. How my eyes adjusted to the dank chamber where rats writhed in the corners between chinks in crumbling stone. Then the voice that drip, drip, […]
Visibility
In 1979 I vanished. I mean I was invisible, or nearly so. That’s what I believed anyway. I wasn’t shaken by the idea, but neither was I comfortable with it. I didn’t think it would last forever, but I was cautious and didn’t do the normal invisible things, like playing dirty pranks on my enemies, […]
The Ball Bobs Back
A smoky dusk sets in. Ashen fog rises from the depths, copulates with the delicate orange light and births a rare red mist. Dribbling a soccer ball close to the ledge, the halfback bobs his ball towards the mist but never sees it return. The boy turns when his grandma calls him from the porch […]
Latent Heat
There’s something dripping on the floor. I watch the drops as they begin to pool, red. I look at my left hand, at the soft fruit I’m holding, lift it to my mouth and suck at the sweetness. There’s a woman walking towards me, walking fast and purposefully towards me, coming close to me, too […]
One for Sorrow
The first time I saw Mark raise his right hand, I winced. Salutes meant one thing in my experience and after being married to a military man for half my life, they made me want to run a mile. Given the circumstances, that was ironic. On second thoughts, perhaps he was just waving at someone […]
Pumpkin
The husk of the pumpkin sat atop the wooden table. Its tendril-like innards hung over the edge with several clumps having fallen to the floor. Hunched over the bulbous fruit was a slip of a man. With a carving knife in hand, he cut deep lines like a butcher dressing a carcass. The lines and […]
Drowning
The horn sounded and the train doors opened, giving Jerome the opportunity to watch the people crash like a wave into the train. He enjoyed people watching, enjoying seeing who was on their way, and who was, perhaps, even running away. It was, in fact, one of his favourite hobbies. In this age of technology, […]
Ghosts
I started hanging out with historical ghosts. I’d lost my job teaching history, my wife Betty ran off, called me Mr. Malaise. They commiserated over my lost job, love. They had lost positions. I had vodkas with Nicholas II, danced on tables with Rasputin. Nicholas and I got drunk, thought a Turkish restaurant was Constantinople. […]