Unsure of whether I had Caught the right bus, I Inquired of the old lady Next to me, Does this bus Go …
The man stood at the massive carved doors, with its monumental forged handles and hinges. At the top, embossed with gold leaf, …
22 Min Read
1. Sam sat in the darkened granny flat, slightly removed from her grandfather who lay dying in the bed. The old man’s …
17 Min Read
David looked at his watch. Five minutes to the end of the sermon, he reckoned. A couple of closing hymns, a prayer, …
15 Min Read
He proposed a few weeks later. I knew he would, but I’m glad to say I didn’t actually predict the date. We’d …
7 Min Read
We travelled down the highway that January, in a brief interlude between the fires. The air was sticky, and firedust riddled the …
16 Min Read
Geoffrey shut his eyes, telling himself to focus, focus. See the Mona Lisa, not the world beyond. He steadied himself and took …
9 Min Read
Only a month after Ricardo moved in, he revealed his many faults. He had little regard for the way I’d laid out …
11 Min Read
Continuing on from part 1 which was published in December … On the third date I invited him in for a …
9 Min Read
He set about his practice with the thoroughness of an auditor. Trying to remain inconspicuous, he spent the remainder of the afternoon …
13 Min Read
I blame the gods for what befell me, and claim my triumph for myself. I am born of dust. The place where …
21 Min Read
‘Lucy!’ ‘Hello stranger,’ said Lucy’s voice. ‘Great to hear your voice.’ ‘Really?’ she said. ‘Of course,’ Geoffrey replied. ‘Not too eager?’ she …
13 Min Read
The Christmas tree is ginormous again! It’s bigger even than the building Dad works in. I went there once. It’s a brick …
23 Min Read
I came home today in a state of glorious hope. You know that feeling when you get home and take off the …
11 Min Read
‘An eight year old dog is what, fifty-six in dog years?’ The man called Tony watched the terrier gouging the surface of …
2 Min Read
Geoffrey sat nervously on the couch. He stared at the phone in his hand. He thought of Lucy. It’s, what, 6am over …
10 Min Read
It was unusual when Mr Johnson didn’t show up for his monthly armoury of medication. He’s a regular, which is how my …
10 Min Read
A man stood in front of the bathroom mirror. That morning he had retrieved the mirror from a pile of discarded items …
7 Min Read
He sank into the outdoor couch and gazed at the stars. The night beach rolled out of sight across the dune. The …
2 Min Read
Anton woke. The electric numbers said 2.44. Vague streetlight was etched on his curtains. Beyond the white shadow of his wardrobe was …
13 Min Read
The man stands at the door with a satchel in his hand. Can I help you? says the woman. She looks at …
12 Min Read
No no no no no no no no no no no no It’s not that big! It’s a trick, done with mirrors …
1 Min Read
No, No! I love being here, naked and on display. Without a shred of covering except the blue satin choker and that …
3 Min Read
Out of the Frying Pan She ran through the trees, her mind aflame with terror; the cage, the shut oven, the screams, …
1 Min Read
It all began with Marty’s pail of weed. And I mean pail – one of those galvanised steel pails your grandma had …
17 Min Read
They say your life flashes before you when you die. They are wrong. It’s your future you see. Like when you lean …
15 Min Read
The boy watched the old man crouched By the pool in the sun stirring the water With an even hand. He was …
2 Min Read
your father beat you or someone else in the family your mum or one of your siblings, when the air is …
1 Min Read
Saint Valentine of Rome was a priest, In the 3rd century AD, But the specific day of his feast – The 14th …
1 Min Read
‘You’ll need this, Inspector,’ said the officer manning the door to the freezer room. He handed the Inspector a heavy padded jacket, …
6 Min Read
Dad’s firm had a Christmas picnic at a park in Canterbury where all the families came and ate sausages in bread and …
28 Min Read
There was no answer. Geoffrey pulled open the fly screen door and ran inside. He was scared of what he might find. …
18 Min Read
A heavy foot shoved his face into the water. He heard ‘Move grommet’ before the fuzz of the surf smothered him. He …
18 Min Read
Shahezah the witch raised her hooked staff high, high above into the sky, unlatched the hasp of a cloud and, with an …
29 Min Read
My immediate thought when I first set eyes on her was not ‘what a warm smile’ or ‘I love the dual pigtail …
3 Min Read
Ten minutes along the freeway he came across the site of last night’s accident and pulled over. The rig stood battered and …
10 Min Read
I remember when Rodney Fletcher first started coming for dinner. I was almost fifteen. My brother Joey was eighteen and a half. …
33 Min Read
Geoffrey flinched as the sun cut into his eyelids. In his fatigue last night he hadn’t closed the curtains. He blocked the …
11 Min Read
“Good grief, witches,” said the old professor as he descended the old wooden stairs to the basement. The four harridans seated around …
2 Min Read
She’s here! God, I can’t do this. – Hi, Jessica, we met… Too earnest. – Hi Jess, remember me? From … I’m …
1 Min Read
Poor old farmer Joe never stood a chance. Wiping the remnants of the morning’s fried egg from the corner of his mouth …
3 Min Read
Draygon hated drone fighting. The Moon, Mars, Neptune, it was always the same despite climatic differences: the drones always got so covered …
20 Min Read
Geoffrey sat inside the ambulance wrapped in a blanket, blandly watching the scene before him. Two other ambulances, two fire trucks and …
20 Min Read
‘More salmon, Jake!’ The American launched a fat arm across the table to grab the only platter of fish, sending a 1980 …
22 Min Read
Right or left? Both tracks from the junction taunt you. Both disappear into a heat that broils the earth. In both directions, …
3 Min Read
Geoffrey’s phone rang. It was Lucy. “Hello, Mr Accountant,” she said. “Hello, Ms Bureaucrat.” “That’s Lady Bureaucrat to you, buster.” “I’ll call …
10 Min Read
Geoffrey’s phone rang; its face said Lucy. “You’re up early,” he said when he answered it. “”Hello to you too,” said Lucy’s …
39 Min Read
My blade is sharpened before you, oh God Most High. I am ready to use it. I am prostrate. I prostrate myself …
17 Min Read
Andrew fingered the manuscript on the chipped formica table in front of him and looked out the cafe window for Vanya. St …
25 Min Read
Terry looked up from behind his computer as his colleague entered the room. The neon from the tower opposite them spread a …
2 Min Read
It was worth it wasn’t it? The Lamborghini 350GT, the two mercs, the houses and farms, the fashion, oh my, the fashion, …
3 Min Read
“Oombawa oombawa oombawa!” “Eeni teeni weeni ayo!” “Mmmmm whoopee! Whoopee! Higher higher higher hoo ha!” “Oombawa! Calamar! Oombawa! Calamar!” “Ooh aahh! Ooh …
32 Min Read
The Mountain Climber’s Beginning Let me tell you a story. Just three nights ago I was in a public bar, in …
31 Min Read
She had often thought of killing him. The reverend had joked about that once in a sermon on marriage. “I said to …
10 Min Read
A blur of blue and white light. Voices. Electronic beeps. Geoffrey’s head pounded. He moved his arm. His limbs were lead. It …
39 Min Read
It was when Albert backed the car into the driveway and turned off the engine that he got stuck. It wasn’t the …
34 Min Read
There was grumbling at the station The news had reached the men That their favourite cook, Asian Jack, had received the DCM. …
4 Min Read
When we stop, blind bodies collapse in a mound of sick, sweat and BO. I scramble to breathe. Someone kicks me. Yusef …
1 Min Read
“Dennis, Dennis.” “What is it, darling?” said the elderly man behind the shopping trolley to his wife who was hovering about like …
3 Min Read
Cindy leant her weight to push open the heavy glass door that bore the words “Jessica Mulgrave, Solicitor” in gold plate at …
35 Min Read
Geoffrey stood on the roadside in the morning sun. Peak hour had just begun, and cars were starting to queue in the …
19 Min Read
“Oi, Scrubs, do us a solid will ya?” shouted the man in the overcoat to another some way ahead of him in …
3 Min Read
Bradley, a five year old boy with too much energy for the day, looked out of the vast window of his apartment …
20 Min Read
Another curry then. He’d rung and said, “Sorry love, work’s all over the shop. I’ll be late in.” She knew what that …
3 Min Read
Geoffrey sat on the blue vinyl chair in the waiting room beside a reception desk piled with mail and files. The receptionist’s …
34 Min Read
Santa (real name Andrew Smith, employee name Ian Goldsworthy) beamed joy to the puddle of mums and prams and toddlers in his …
60 Min Read
H – That was a good day, all things considered. W – Oh, I’m full. Just got this glass. (Holds up glass …
5 Min Read
‘Oh good grief,’ whispered Jennifer to husband Jason, ‘it’s Uncle Frank.’ The waft came first, steaming feathermeal and river mud, followed by …
21 Min Read
Geoffrey woke. The room was still dark, although day was up, and shreds of light stained the rims of the blinds which …
25 Min Read
A few days before Christmas we got a new puppy. We called her Ruby. She was very cute, with big floppy ears …
3 Min Read
I steer the ute out along a dirt track for a while and stop only when I feel it is safe. I …
40 Min Read
“You know this woman?” Judith shoved the dog-eared photograph at the barman. He studied it and launched a chubby finger to her …
3 Min Read
Geoffrey prodded the white surgical tape that held the plastic cover over his right eye. By dodging his head one way and …
31 Min Read
Paradiddle, flam, blam, now the side tom, boom boom boom, kick drum, snare, sticks in the air, roll it ‘n’ swing, shake …
3 Min Read
The bar heaved with the heat of drinkers, talkers and hangers-on. At the far end of the space, beyond shadowed dancing hordes, …
12 Min Read
“I’ll need you to drive,” said Dave when they arrived at his Audi. “I’ve got a couple of phone calls to make.” …
20 Min Read
The old man turned the skiff homeward. It had not been a successful day. The sea had misled him. His pots were …
4 Min Read
The crisp air assailed them as they stepped outside. Dawn had not yet appeared, and the sky was glass clear, the moon …
15 Min Read
Back in his apartment, Geoffrey dialled the number of the only person he thought might understand his dilemma. “Dave, it’s Geoff.” “Geoffrey, …
12 Min Read
“Show me where the diamonds are, Lehmann!” Lehmann’s face reddened under the throttle hold of the thug who held him over the …
2 Min Read
“Shoes, sunshine, ships or shore Love me rich, love me poor.” It was a song her grandmother had taught her as a …
2 Min Read
As I approached my death I came upon a man seated On the stoop of the Doorway To the End of Life. …
1 Min Read
Meredith and Toby sat in abject terror on the chaise longue where they had, until this moment, been enthusiastically making out, staring …
3 Min Read
The evening had begun its descent into a sepia haze as they drove the dirt track through low sparse scrub. A red …
25 Min Read
A million doubts flooded his mind. He had never really contemplated his own death before. Sure, he knew he was going to …
16 Min Read
The assembled gods declared, “The Mortals mock us! We must combine our eternal fluids and make a god so awesome they will …
3 Min Read
Geoffrey walked along a narrow lane of boutique shops up to the main road. Two lanes of night time traffic swirled past, …
9 Min Read
Mum says being dead is like being asleep except you don’t wake up. Which is silly. I have a sleepover at Andy’s …
3 Min Read
Hotel 25 – affectionately known as The Two and Five by its regular guests – was a squat boutique hotel hidden in …
25 Min Read
The sound of the crash ripped apart the hubbub of the pub. Geoffrey and others at the bar paused momentarily to realise …
15 Min Read
I was a slight kid, some say cheeky, but not one of the muscular kids. There was one kid, a couple of …
3 Min Read
There is that one dazzling slo-mo moment, when the kick goes up and the ball ascends towards the heavens, and with it, …
3 Min Read
The white flash, then the savage crack of thunder, the flash again and the rain attacked the night. The storm had come. …
3 Min Read
“Julianne, look what the cat dragged in. Over at Chanel,” said Suzanne, a coiffured blonde in charge of Lancôme. In front of …
3 Min Read
An estimated five thousand people amassed in the plaza that day, some said more. Jess was one, masked, arm in arm with …
8 Min Read
Geoffrey was floating, high and joyous amidst the whirring fans and rafters of the pub, slowly revolving in his private heaven. The …
19 Min Read
What to do. What a to do. First thing, get out of bed. This involves sitting upright on the edge, in the …
13 Min Read
TWO STORIES EACH AT 500 WORDS FOR EASY READING, by Rob Wilcher The Slave Five bedraggled slaves made their sorry way up …
5 Min Read
Mike strained as he planked, trying to resist the pull of gravity on his belly as it pulled on his tensed abdomen. …
30 Min Read
Howard Hodgson paused at the entrance to the laneway to enjoy the busker who was belting out a blinding rendition of On …
19 Min Read
O, this one was a beauty. A brilliant brazen mane, an enormous head, my god the power in those jaws as he …
10 Min Read