I wake in a cold sweat. The dream again. Will it never end, I ask myself. As I lay very still, my mind takes me back. Back some twenty-five years ago at the age of five. A small happy five-year-old. It had been raining and was a cold rain as it is now. I remember my dad picking me up and telling me mom had to work late, and we would get a burger for dinner. He had said he was very tired, and I should go ahead and eat. He...

The twisted adventures of one sick puppy.  The first time I went to Angela’s was four Saturdays ago. At work the day before, she had told Phil that she was going to stay home all weekend but she lied. She went out and got drunk. I waited outside her building smoking cigarettes in my truck and it wasn’t until 7:13 the next morning when she finally stumbled up the block with those two sluts from Accounts Receivable. They we...

Vince clenched my shirt collar and pulled me close. “This is not complicated,” he said, slipping the vial into my shirt pocket and giving it a friendly pat. “You dump this in his drink then get the hell out of there.”His face was in mine but my heart was pumping hard and he sounded far away.“You calmly serve the drinks,” he growled low. “Tell them you’ll be back with their food, walk slowly through the kitchen, down the h...

There are moments in life that determine our fates. Call them crossroads or decisions, determinations or resolutions, the labels matter not. What matters is that a choice must be made, and the reverberations of that choice will be felt for the rest of our days.Agnes has arrived at such a place.She sits with two cards in her hand, a ten of spades and a six of diamonds, the blackjack dealer standing before her. No one sits ...

He loved Kayla in the way one loves a small child or an injured puppy. He loved her, not because she was the right girl for him, but because he was the right one for her. He loved her because she was magnetic with gossamer wings and because on Mondays she smelled like Chanel No. 5 and roses and he loved her because he was supposed to, which is really no kind of love at all. Perhaps, he even didn’t know this. It is unlikel...

She was plain as paper. There was something very nondescript about her. The darkish, straight brows, the blue eyes that were just that - blue. Not a special blue, or a sparkling blue. They were neither light blue nor dark. Just blue. The oval face that was slightly long, the pursed lips and the small chin. All of these features were plain, yet when you added them together, it made for a pleasant looking face. She was neit...

“Hey! Bata.” I greeted Nora who sat on the porch and sipped her tea. She was in her white pajamas and t-shirt. I wanted to tease her about cleavage but it was my last time meeting her so decided not to annoy her. “Hey! Little boy.” She greeted me back and pointed at the empty chair opposite to her. It was a lovely evening and she had off from work so I wanted to spend some time with her before going to states. She seemed...

Now, I'm not complaining, you understand, but these foreign dogs I’m living with are crazy. I call those house-hounds 'foreign' because one is part German Shepard, another is a mix of French poodle and something else, while the other is probably, more or less, Tibetan. The problem is whenever the French guy sees another dog or any other animal, either alive or animated, on TV, he begins barking and making like a love-stru...

You buried me, but I came back. We made mistakes. I forgive you. That's what love is. Forgiveness. Intimacy. Studying the cracks in one's heart as if they're your own. Just remember, I love you like no other.I'm watching you now. You're even more beautiful as you sleep. I remember our nights here. You'd rest in my arms and I'd watch over you.There were no complications . No doubts or jealousy. No competition for your hear...

Along came MagsPeople on the street called her Raggy Maggie for obvious reasons. She was the consummate street person complete with shopping cart and collection of stuff she found in dumpsters. It was getting to be too cold to sleep outside and she needed to find shelter. The woman at the Good Shepherd centre directed her towards grandma Sheffield’s rooming house and even called ahead to make sure grandma had a bed for he...

Yogi and Casper had just taken off on a routine training flight. The weather wasn't perfect that day. Forecast for low lying cloud cover, but it would help in their training. The two fliers climbed to the designated altitude and formed up to begin their mission. A low level sortie this time, hugging the ground to avoid detection. Casper called to Yogi to verify the flight plan. Yogi replied, “Thirty minutes at two-niner-f...

Everyone had arrived back at the mansion, followed by the Hunters. Mars walked past the crowd, Alex's lifeless body nestled in his arms. Heading towards an altar in the living room, Mars gently placed the redhead down on the altar. Silently, both parties gathered around the teen, bowing their heads in respect and mourning. Vladimir and Daniel, were in the front row, staring at the dead boy's face. "This boy..is my son?" D...

Archibald Horsley was a quiet, unassuming fellow, in fact, he was very shy. Everyone who knew him liked him, but he didn't have any actual friends.At thirty years old, he was unmarried with no children. It wasn't that he had no interest in women, he did, but he just hadn't met any He wasn't tall, but then, he wasn't short either.He wasn't fat, nor was he thin.Neither smart nor untidy.In short, he was just Archibald Horsle...

The desert is dry and arid. I am wandering around aimlessly looking for some sort of oasis in this barren wasteland. I keep a look out for wild animals and snakes waiting to make me their next meal. Suddenly up ahead I see a settlement made up of caravans and tents. There are people milling around and sitting by campfires. "Senorita?" One man uttered as he regarded my tattered clothing. I looked like I had been through a...

It was as windy as if Hurricane Isaac was blowing through town. I was on a stake out waiting for my FTA (failure to appear) not only was he late getting home from work. He was late in every sense of the word as I would soon discover. My name is Big Mama Mary and I am the toughest bounty hunter this side of Death Valley. My rack and my attitude are about the same size, extra-large. Tonight I am training a newb named Pam th...