The Phoenix Through the salt-grimed asylum windows, I watch the Phoenix enter the harbor to cheering crowds, back from miraculous wartime exploits. I launched that ship. The crowd cheered me then, right up until they stole my crown and transformed it into a ballot box. And imprisoned me here. The door opens. “Supper time, your…
Category: Drama
The Window
The Window The cabin was small, but the window faced the beach. He spent hours standing there, just looking out. The wind probably felt cool and smelled briny. Maybe I’ll take a walk. For the 5725th day in a row, he decided not to. Maybe tomorrow. The light flickered. The projection screen died. In poured…
Sugar Sand
Sugar Sand “It hurts.” “I’m sure, sweetie. You’re doing so good.” The ambulance corners hard. “Ow!” “Almost there. Where were you going? When the car hit you?” “Store. Getting candy.” “Candy, nice. Deep breath for me now.” “Hurts.” “I know, honey. Hey, you ever hear of sugar sand?” “No.” “There are beaches in Hawaii full…
Kharkiv Classroom
This is story is based on the Muse on Monday prompt from September 4: Write a story about the first day of school. Make it unique. Kharkiv Classroom This is not how I imagined my first day of school. Most of the things we learned in the Education University don’t seem to apply here underground….
Lost in My Feelings
Lost in My Feelings I am lost in my feelings.I wonder what is my true self.I hear the child`s sobbing.I see a cold infant in the mirror.I want to show my true self.I am lost in my feelings. I pretend to be mature and sensible.I feel that time is passing too fast.I touch slipping through…
Broken
Broken I’m almost done the dishes when the unthinkable happens. My hand, slippery with suds, grasps my glass and it slips, falling onto the floor with a sharp crack. I stare in horror at my only glass, lying in four large pieces and a scattering of shards. Immediately I start gathering them together, trying to…
Spirits
Spirits “What are you hoping from this?” I asked the woman across who was looking out the train window lost in thought. She glanced towards me. “Oh, I’m just curious. I don’t think we’ll see anything, really, but I’ve got an open mind.” She went back to looking out into the fog. “I’ve got questions…
Creeping Things
Creeping Things Footsteps creep by outside, military-style boots. Breathe slowly. Militia, looking for conscripts. Or target practice. Stomach rumbles. It’s been hours. Low voices. So hungry. Moving away. Something creeps across your hand. You grab it instinctively. It squirms. You stuff it in your mouth. Crunchy. Suddenly you’re a kid again, hunting crickets in the…
Unlimited Credit
Unlimited Credit The check came. “I’ll get this one.” “Oh, you will, eh? Which ‘you’?” “Let’s see. Do they take Mastercard?” “Use one of the visas.” “Here’s one: Randall James.” “That’s a platinum card. Save that for something big.” “How about this one: Adelbert Hanspeter.” “What?!” “What’s wrong?” “That’s my grandfather.” “Maybe it’s someone with…
The Sum of All Games
The Sum of All Games The field below is an undulating Rorschach test, ten thousand overlapping players forming ever-shifting patterns of dramatic wins and crushing defeats. Death has freed me from the shackles of linear time but by concentrating, I can distill individual events. The Champion’s memorial is nearest, the crowd standing silently for their…
The Green-Walled Treehouse 