Tag Archives: short fiction

Continued Low Key Panic: A Body of Thieves

Vinnie – Face, or maybe the Face? He still wasn’t sure – had found the location of the safe. Smile had charmed their way in. Eyes had worked at the safe with obvious skill while Fist had stayed close to the door, keeping lookout. The safe had opened and for a few bright seconds they were able to look upon the fruits of their good work without fear: wallets, jewelry, and purses. The things too precious to just be left in those cheap room safes in the closets. Things owned by people who owned so much else, what was the loss of a single necklace, or a few bills?

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

Mallsoft: A Biddies and Broken Hearts Story

The air on the other side of the doors was stale. Mostly it smelled of collected dust, but Nico was almost positive he could still smell the cinnamon and brown sugar from the pretzel stand. It was cold, colder than outside. The further they walked in the heavier the clouds of breath in front of them became. It was a tomb. Darker than he would have thought, too. The ceiling, high above, arched into sky lights that only managed to turn the darkness into a musty gloom.

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

Beach

They didn’t know what else to do. So they went to the beach. It wasn’t far but it was a slow walk. Lynnette’s ankle was twisted badly if not completely broken, and Ronny was just tired. Tired. It seemed like the right word and the wrong one at the same time. It wasn’t strong enough,Continue reading “Beach”

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

Garage

The elevator chimed and the doors slid smoothly open, things Missy barely registered. If it wasn’t contained within the bright glowing world of her phone (blue light filters, Missy believed, were for the weak) it had to be put on the backburner. The act of physically leaving work didn’t mean she was actually leaving workContinue reading “Garage”

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

In Which Mrs. Loretta McEnnis, Recently Widowed, Discovers Reality Has Folded in on Itself

Loretta retraced her steps of the night. She had supped alone – after Miss Reynolds had deftly turned away dreadful Mrs. Johnson, who seemed to call not to check on Loretta’s welfare but discover if she was ready to admit her husband was dead and have her meet her youngest son, Carroll, and Loretta would reward Miss Reynolds in her weekly pay – and then she had sent Miss Reynolds home for the night. She had tried to sleep, spent some hours tossing and turning, and then had given up entirely. If sleep were to abandon her again, she would rather spend her night staring at the ocean than staring at the top of her bed frame.

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

Widow’s Walk

It was approaching one in the morning, and like most nights, lately, Ramona was on the rooftop patio of her two-hundred year old coastal Victorian home, sitting in the oversized Adirondack chair her kids had painted, and drinking white wine from the box sitting on the table next to her. Above her were a smattering of stars between oil stain clouds, and a hangnail moon. In front of her was about half a mile of this nothing Maine town and then the never-ending Atlantic, dark and choppy.

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

Calvin

It was a beautiful night on the promenade. There was a breeze, cool and salty, bringing different smells from the vendors, popcorn and nuts and saltwater taffy all mixing together to create something so sweet it was nearly sickly. Cloying. Way above, a few of the brighter stars shone through. The rest were drowned outContinue reading “Calvin”

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

Signal to the Noise: A Body of Thieves

In truth, he didn’t have to do much talking. Only the barest amount of small talk, whatever would make it appropriate for a simple touch. A hand shake. A pat on the arm. Sometimes Vinnie didn’t even have to open his mouth. The ballroom was so crowded he could pass off his hand brushing against someone as an accident.

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

Woman in White

“Is that someone walking?” “Who’d be walking out here? It must be a deer.” But as their car got closer to the figure on the side of the road, it became impossible to deny that the figure was human. A woman wearing a white dress, dark hair falling down her back. “Why would someone beContinue reading “Woman in White”

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

A Heatherheart Wake

This is the traditional heatherheart wake. Specifically, this is the wake for Jeremiah Jones, or JJ to his friends and family. He was forty-six years old, and had been a heatherheart for the last eighteen. He was well liked. Real good at the job, very clear-headed and rational, and in the past he had beenContinue reading “A Heatherheart Wake”

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.