Category: Microfiction

Her dreams were full of attempts to fly, her feet lifting off the ground, teasing her with temporary flight before she landed heavily back on the earth. She would wake with cramped toes and a lingering feeling of absence, a need unrealised. She considered skydiving but remembered she was afraid of heights. Maybe one day…

Dear Kate, I’m sorry I couldn’t stay. I wanted things to be different, imagined a future where the two of us would have the wedding, the house, the kids, the retirement. I never told you this in person, because if I kept it to myself, I could at least pretend that it might actually happen.…

She was so excited by the delivery, practically grabbing it from the startled postman’s hands. A box full of undelivered mail. An adult’s pass the parcel. She imagined a brand new tablet. Maybe some jewellery. Perhaps a family heirloom or future antique. The possibilities felt endless. Instead she got a box full of the mundanity…

They had to be twins. “Which one of you is Eric Cooper?” “I am.” Everything the same. The timing, the tone, the way their mouths moved. Uncanny, even for twins. “This is a great joke, but as you can see, we’re extremely busy today. Whichever of you isn’t Eric, please make a separate appointment.” As…

“Dad, you’ve got to get rid of the sofa.” He looked up from his place among the shapeless cushions and threadbare fabric. “Do you know how long it has taken me to mould this sofa to my shape? It’s not going anywhere.” “But it’s hideous!” “Your mother chose this sofa.” The mother she only remembered…

Their fingers were stained a reddish purple. Not quite the colour of blood, but close enough that they would wiggle their fingers in each other’s faces, saying ‘woo’ like all of their imaginary monsters did. Their tongues tingled with the sweetness of the blackberries, so heavy with ripeness that it left them giddy. Their mothers…

For years they had recreated their favourite photo at Durdle Door, the three of them pulling the same pose as the original from sixty years ago, their faces different but the same. But now they were only two. “We promised her that we would carry on the tradition. She wanted us to find someone like…

At first he thought it was the middle of the night. He reached a hand across the bed. Empty and cool. He cleared his throat. The sound was oddly muffled. “Tess?” The silence answered. He blinked, wondered if he had in fact gone blind. He placed clammy hands over sleep-sticky eyes. Opened them to a…

“How many lifetimes do you think we get?” “Are you talking about reincarnation?” “Sort of. Maybe. I’m not sure.” She smiled at her granddaughter, so full of questions that they tumbled out at unexpected moments. At an elegant afternoon tea she had once asked why cats licked their own backsides. “I think we each get…

He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. This had the ability to end careers. To make relationships implode. To turn nearly every head on earth. Hell, it could stop the earth. He walked around, wondering what on earth he should do. The world would judge regardless. Some people would love him so much they…