By David William Pearce It was her eyes I noticed first. Big, cobalt blue, and surrounded by a translucent white. The beret was as I expected: red felt covering her head and left ear. She was sitting at a café, outside, under a red and white checkered awning. A cigarette dangled between her fingers, and … Continue reading Maris
Choices
By Jacob Meadows In life, one must make innumerable choices. These choices vary in importance, some being as trivial as deciding if one should take the direct route home from the mosque, or embark upon the route which follows the river for a mile before returning to the main road. Other choices hold such weight … Continue reading Choices
Driftwood
By Neil Brosnan Angela isn’t exactly sure when her loathing of public holidays first began, when each impending break from work had become a source of anguish rather than joy. She had once adored such breaks, and had perfected the art of manipulating isolated bank holidays into an extra week of annual leave – providing … Continue reading Driftwood
The Comet
By Mishal Gloria Nayler once wrote, “Sometimes being a friend is mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over.” You ever heard about comets? … Continue reading The Comet
1929
By DC Diamondopolous Douglas Haines was not an impulsive man. He’d given it a lot of thought—his decision final. He stood atop the Savings and Exchange Bank in the financial district of Los Angeles. The wide box toes of his oxfords suspended over the roof’s ledge. Ten stories high, with no awning to catch a … Continue reading 1929
Hidden
By David R. Topper She’s hidden in a cavity of my car. If discovered, we’ll both die. Quickly “dispatched,” as a gangster would say. No questions asked. That’s the way it works with the thugs running this country. Her life is in my hands. How I look and act. My body language. If I elicit … Continue reading Hidden
Luzia’s Dowry
By Jozef Leyden The plane bringing me from Copenhagen to Lisbon was half-empty. So was the ‘Arrivals’ at the Lisbon-International on that late warm October evening when I came across her ̶ my inamorata-siren ̶ for the first time. With no checked baggage, just a backpack, I smoothly sailed through ‘Immigration and Customs,’ briskly pacing … Continue reading Luzia’s Dowry
Different Shades
By Jimmy Webb Rose puts her music on low. Lays out her pencils. Greys on the left, colours on the right. The afternoon sun beams onto the drawing, like a spotlight. Perfect. She peers out of the window and smiles. There’s no car on the drive. No disturbances. Mum is out at lunch with her … Continue reading Different Shades
So Much Water, So Far From Home
By Ewa Mazierska Of all stories by Raymond Carver, ‘So Much Water So Close To Home’ is my favourite, because, with its simple dialogue, it pictures moral conflict around people’s attitude to death. It shows a group of pragmatic men on a fishing expedition who find the naked body of a young woman, floating in … Continue reading So Much Water, So Far From Home
The Aspidistra and The Mock Turtle Soup
By Mike Paterson-Jones The letter that came in the post was intriguing. The envelope was pale green and was addressed in the most beautiful handwriting. Inside was an invitation to dinner with Robert de Morgan on a date two weeks hence at ‘Rogues Manor’. We had only just bought the farm in the Eastern Mountains … Continue reading The Aspidistra and The Mock Turtle Soup
Academy of the Heart And Mind 