Change

I was feeling hungry. I’d had some toast for breakfast, but that had been the last of the bread, and I didn’t have anything else left to eat. I still had an onion and some mayonnaise, but I couldn’t think of how I’d make a meal out of them. I wouldn’t get paid for another … [Read more…]

Freedom

David had been locked up for impersonating a philosopher. He’d told an older man that he should follow his desires, no matter how ridiculous those desires might seem. After all, the man was in his sixties, and it seemed to David that the older man, Nathan, should be able to do whatever he wanted at … [Read more…]

Senescence

It was raining on the day that they took Simon out to execute him. He sat in the back of the pickup truck shackled in place on the bed of the truck. There was a chain looped around a ring attached to the truck bed near the front, and then looped around to lock onto … [Read more…]

Upstairs

I ducked inside the house when it started to rain. I had been knocking and calling out, but when it started to pour down on me, it was the only shelter available. They had left it unlocked, and I really needed to get inside. I supposed that it was remote enough that they didn’t think … [Read more…]

The Disappearance

It was a huge lake. And it twisted around in constant inlets and islands. Jerry had no idea of where the end of it was… well…he’d seen it on maps so he kind of knew. The other end of the lake was in another province. But he couldn’t see it. He knew it was off … [Read more…]

Harold

Harold wondered what had gone wrong. He’d dressed nice for the interview. He’d been as close to charming as it was possible for him to be. They’d even laughed at some of his jokes, and he’d tried to restrain his natural cynicism, as it was never welcome at interviews. Just enough snark to be funny, … [Read more…]

The Lake Monster

The rain came down softly on Solomon where he sat quietly in his boat. It was cold enough to see breath coming out in a kind of mist from his mouth. The dark green forests at the side of the lake rose up until they were covered by the low clouds above the water. So, … [Read more…]

The Boss

I pressed the button in the elevator to go up to the boss’ office on the fifty-second floor. I was thinking how useless this was going to be. I was thinking of how I should just let this play out into the disaster that it was already becoming. At least it wouldn’t be clear who … [Read more…]

Death on the Hill

Simon killed Alfred. That’s the truth of the matter. He picked up a rock and hit him over the head with it. They had been arguing all day about Alfred’s unwillingness to cook. The only cooking that ever happened was when Simon did it. Alfred just had bread or a chunk of cheese if he … [Read more…]

The Red Fruit

I should have yanked that plant up out of the ground. I knew that, but I didn’t do it. It had such huge, beautiful leaves that I just had to see how it would grow if I left it. And people often talk about if they knew then what they know now. But it was … [Read more…]