By Mehreen Ahmed Short story: ‘As soon as he stepped out of the cubicle, the ‘ghost’ disappeared. Perhaps, it was an optical illusion. Like a rainbow where people saw only the colours, not the water particles behind the veil.’ This was one of those days when the sun had tilted slightly south while rotating on … Continue reading Like Sullied Water
Achat de Noël
By Matthew Allen Lin Ugh. I really should have planned this better. I thought the lines back home in California were bad. Looks like everyone in Paris waited until the last minute to do their Christmas shopping. I checked the time on my phone. 10 a.m. Good thing Melanie was still asleep at our hotel. … Continue reading Achat de Noël
The Story of the Christmas Tree Angel
By Patricia Furstenberg Long, long ago, as the elders whisper, when the wolf and the lamb were still the best of friends and cuddled together in the depth of winter, for warmth… Long ago, at the very beginning of time when even we were in the loving care of storks and from there into our … Continue reading The Story of the Christmas Tree Angel
The Wreath
By Jim Bates The old man pulled back the curtain and peered into his front yard. It was covered with dirty snow, the stalks of forgotten annuals bent and frozen. He frowned. Should have pulled them last October. Who cared anyway? He let the curtain fall back and made his way to his worn armchair. … Continue reading The Wreath
The Only Happy Song She Remembered
By Marzia Rahman When the air smelt like an empty cookie jar and the lampposts shed yellow lights on the streets, she came out of her hut. Wearing a glossy sari with slim zari borders and red high heels, she walked past a dog, lying under a lamppost. The dog raised its head, howling. A … Continue reading The Only Happy Song She Remembered
Augustus
By Susan Cleveland "Where on earth am I? Everything seems so misty and grey…" "He thinks he's on earth?!" A young female voice giggled in the background. "Who said that? I told you I can't see anything…" "That's Wilhelmena– don't pay any attention to her." An older male advised somewhere off to the left. "I'm … Continue reading Augustus
Secrets
By Wendy Taylor Once Alannah turned twenty, she only ever interacted with her father on Christmas Day. Today she had the misfortune to deal with him twice. Her mother did not miss out though. Alannah made the two-hour trip north regularly to her childhood home for afternoon tea in the front room, perched on the … Continue reading Secrets
The Run Home
By Eric Burbridge For once I followed the doctor’s orders. “Get some sunshine, good ole vitamin D.” He said. I loaded my walker and headed for Tooley Park, a thirty-minute drive from the house. As fast as I walked being tall, thin and I stood erect, people questioned, did I need it? Yes, unfortunately, these … Continue reading The Run Home
The King’s Grapes
By Patricia Furstenberg A king from a country where only sand covered the ground and water was more precious than gold, and some say that even the king’s entire wealth, reaching his old age and having gathered all the treasures he could have wished for, and more, woke up one day desiring one more thing. … Continue reading The King’s Grapes
Bertie and the Sheep
By Daniel Groves Once there was a young man who loved old books. Bertavious Bookman, more commonly called Bertie, spent most of his time with books—searching for them, buying them, restoring them, and talking about them with anyone who would listen. He would spend hours locked within the panels of his library, reading all the … Continue reading Bertie and the Sheep
Academy of the Heart And Mind 