He noticed it as soon as he walked through the door, and was about to mention it, but then thought better of it as the youth settled behind his desk and set about turning on his computer. His black eye looked angry and painful, spread across the cheekbone and blending away on his right temple, as though prior to coming into work he had gotten himself into a nasty fight, him on the losing side. He seemed to get on with his...

She sang my soul of polished memories as her shadow awakes neath the hush when her soft voice died on the wings of angels so deep the silence of her echoes on clear nights from the winds that ride the tides of love

Is it worth the trust if it's mostly lust? ° You are free to speak Tell me what your heart says We are in admission Please, no more naysays. ° Is it worth the love if you only feel kind of? ° Whisper on my ears The words I must hear. The songs of lovers From you, my dear. ° Is it worth the kiss if it's amiss? ° Look into my eyes Let me see the truth The window of your soul Don't hide the sooth. ° Is it still worth the try...

Where the forests nose into the lake, where the salmon spawn each year; where the camps were, that’s where you’ll find Blind Siku’s place. Siku is not here, nor are his bones. But stand on the shore, look through the mist to the hills on the other side, and you’ll feel his presence, as sure as if he was behind you. It was my late grandfather, Billy Thomson, who first brought me to this spot, a full hour’s hike from the ne...

The lake called him from uncertain dreams at dawn. Today was the day. He awoke. Frost covered the edges of the windows. Through the clear glass at the center of the pane he saw the snow still blowing hard. Its vehemence contrasted sharply with the warm calm of the bedroom. He kissed his wife as she lay sleeping, petted the cat, then slipped out of bed as quietly as he could. The cat joined him as he put on his slippers, p...

The river, smooth as a land-locked pool glows silver below us, and the snow crunches under our feet as we stroll towards the mid-point of the bridge. So many times, my searches for nature’s gifts have led me here. But never in winter. And never with a woman. Bashful Barry, that’s me. twenty-five years old, my nickname has tracked me since university. Bluebells delicately border this riverbank in springtime. Today, snow, s...

I want to go on a road trip. That’s what I’m thinking as I lie on my bed and glance out at the suburban. A long one. I want to go to Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires and Bogota. I want to sit in a car for days and drive through the south of France, taking in the views and the scenes and the long, sunny beaches with the deep blue of the sea crashing in, where I can swim for hours and lie on my back and look up at the equally blu...

It is peaceful now, the lake silent and cold. I am the last as I look back toward the now-distant shore. My wife and my children are safe and warm in our home. I will never see them again, not in this life. The hoards from the north have made sure of that. Raedwulf is still but a child. He will grow strong and become a brave warrior, like his father. Raegan, as her mother, Ragnhild, is already becoming a skilled shield ma...

My big brother Jon packed a snowball with mittened hands. “It’s fake.” “What’s fake?” I knew what he was about to say. Sometimes when it’s your brother you just have to listen. He threw the snowball at me. “The snow. Fake. Made of plastic.” He started making another snowball. I wondered how much he’d had to drink. I hadn’t seen many bottles, but sometimes he hid the bottles. He’d been going downhill since his wife left hi...

As the night begins to swarm using nitrous oxide with a beer chaser teetering on the brink of insanity in the charms of the body farm beneath the dirt's jaw candy of lessons learned from the past with a cricket's toothache using death's pickaxe and dental floss for green gums teetering on the brink of insanity using nitrous oxide with a beer chaser

“And I hate that picture too.” He turned to look at the new target of her ire. “Lake Hintersee? But why? It’s beautiful.” “That lake was beautiful but that picture is just like you. It’s boring and empty. Your eye gets drawn to the dead centre. Dead, empty and soulless.” With that, she turned and picked up her coat. “I’ll be back while you’re at work to collect my stuff.” James stared at the closed door for what felt like...

Snow danced and swirled, driven across the lake by brisk winds. Jenn looked out her cabin’s window and sighed. She put more wood on the fire. The cabin was small enough that a wood stove was sufficient for heat. Sitting at a table by the window, Jenn leafed through her sketchbook. It was filled with drawings of snowflakes. Jenn had not yet figured out what she was trying to capture in these drawings. She just kept observi...

I loved her chair. It was covered with material, olive-green and ribbed, and elasticated in a fascinating way. When you pulled it and released, it snapped back to the chair's frame, shooting out tiny clouds of dust like bombs. I could have done that for hours. Still would. It was her chair though, and when I picture her in it she is more sombre. It is the evening, when visitors have gone and the room is silent and lit by...

I watched as the homeless man collided with her. “Spare some change for a cuppa coffee?” Lois looked at the ragged man, then seemed to melt. “Sure. Wait a minute.” She opened her pocketbook, rummaged around, and came up with a five dollar bill, which she gave to the man, smiling. “Ma’am that’s real great of ya… could you maybe stretch it to ten? I haven’t eaten since yesterday.” She paused for a heartbeat, then dug back i...

It may be fifty years since we got married, but it only seems like yesterday. Half a century has gone in the blink of an eye. Five decades of happiness and woes, triumphs and failures, laughter and tears. Memories come and go, but one day I will always remember was our honeymoon. We didn’t have a lot of cash at the time, so we took any deal that was offered. It being winter, we hoped for a flight to somewhere warm. Alas,...