I woke at 4 AM in Ellie’s spare room, feeling surprisingly refreshed despite all the drama and tedium mere hours ago. After a quick shower, I pulled on a red Icebreaker 250 zip-up, last night’s jeans, and a thick polar fleece as it was cold outside and would be colder at my destination, though my heart would soon heat up there. I was shocked to see Ellie, normally useless until daylight, up and had pancakes ready. I wonde...

Oh no, he’s about to recount the story of me falling out of a rowing boat. I told my brother that story always embarrassed me, he never listens. For god sake, I was only ten at the time and had never fished off a boat before. Oh well, at least it gave everyone a laugh. I suppose it is funny looking back. Mum looks happy, sitting there in her floral dress. She always loved that dress. I remember buying that out of my first...

The dryad sleeps in slender stems, and new green leaves. Born of two souls mingled, the dryad dreams. One died for love of the land and a friend. One passed in her dotage, but was content in the end. Xantwilla’s soul lingered where her charred stump remained. By love and fey magic was her spirit sustained. For Penny she waited — her life incomplete. She knew that one day, they would once again meet. On a night blessed by...

The Twin Otter came to a stop, after taxiing at Christchurch International, and all aboard let out an explosive sigh of relief. Sean Regan went forward to speak to the flight crew. “Well done guys and thanks; but let’s not do that again huh?” “You got that right brother,” said Dickie Peters, the pilot, “that was one rough ride. Don’t think we’ve ever had a rougher, do you Smithy?” “Nope, and I’m not in a hurry to try one...

It had been one year ago that Vince entered the broadcast booth for his first show. A mixture of fear and excitement coursed through him as he placed the headphones on and slid his chair closer to the microphone to began his shift. It wasn't drive time, but it wasn't bad. For someone no experience or education it wasn't bad at all.It was fate that brought him to this point. A year and a month earlier he stopped by the lou...

Five, four, three, two, one, zero; as I hear that almost silent countdown being whispered in my mind, and finding myself standing here as though I had been lost in time. Standing here in the dark light of the sun under these hard blue clear skies, near those twin archways out here in the courtyard, as I look out towards those distant crossroads across from the square. And closing my tired eyes for only a second and know t...

The ten year reunion for Tilden High School's class of 1960 was fast approaching. The class president and his cabinet sent out numerous letters and post cards besides leaving a multitude of voice messages on numerous answering machines. They were advising the recipients of an upcoming meeting of the reunion committee, open to anyone who wished to volunteer and brainstorm. The meeting would be held at a small bar that was...

“Ann, are you telling us our straight-arrow, nice-Jewish-girl-from-Queens, Gwen, took some guy she was fooling around with on her ward to the park where they did, God only knows what?” "Is this stuff animal, vegetable, or mineral?" Ann was cautiously examining several unidentified objects under the wilted lettuce leaves on her salad. "Yes," said Gwen while methodically stirring her yoghurt. "Yes, what?" Ann’s voice held a...

It was many years ago that I happened to bump into " Ricky " at a local restaurant. He had been a schoolmate and like me wore a loser tag presented to us by our peers, so I didn't mind chatting with him.He informed me that he was on the five year reunion committee and I was one of those folks that was MIA and it was his job to invite those he happened upon. I was outraged. Here were the same group of folks that went out o...

It was one of those days when I waxed nostalgic and longed for the friends of my younger days. In the past I had attempted to locate some of them without success using a well known social page but had never tried her name. I typed her name into the friend search and found her, the image was not what I expected but the name remained the same. How long had it been? How much water flowed under the bridge of time? What kind o...

Deus Ex Machina is a phrase that made itself ever evident on a cold November night. It was in the late 1960's in a small Arizonan town and was one of the few towns that still ran early model locomotives. It often made for good and quick travel between destinations, however on this night it brought something else. On this night it was accompanied by something old yet familiar, you see these townsfolk had lived here for gen...

Alone, empty. Apart, void. Separately, fragmented. Individually, nothing. Not thinking, not feeling, not caring, just...existing. Existing, yes, but in the basest sense — not truly being. Together, we are no longer empty, void, fragmented. We are replete. We are meaningful. We are whole. Together, we are everything. Together, we are.

First ’What the hell am I doing here?’ That was my primary thought as I stood here at the high school reunion, 10 years after we all graduated. I was actually surprised they invited me. After all, I hadn’t been in this class for more than a year. I guess you can say that’s one of the downsides of having a parent that works for an oil company and moves around a lot. My dad was the potato man. At least that’s what one of hi...