Stories

‘Twas the month before Christmas when all through my head Not a thought was stirring, not even a thread. The desk was …

Unsure of whether I had Caught the right bus, I Inquired of the old lady Next to me, Does this bus Go …

‘Johnny Bastard Dalton, as I live and breathe!’ John looked up from his book. He didn’t recognise the man; maybe it was …

Controlling her anger was one thing. But it didn’t stop her ramming his car. Nathan had been dead for a year. The …

“Mummy, mummy, look, look!” Lina pulls hard at her mother’s hand as she chats with one of her grown-up friends. They’ve been …

The celebrated restaurant stood out from the dark street like a reassuring beacon. Yonder! Its glittering lights radiated warmth, welcome and the …

Waiting for the bell to ring, crouching on a sticky icy bench, the chill from the asphalt squirming through my shoes and …

Happy Fathers Day. Was there a Sad Fathers Day? A Tired Fathers Day? An Overworked one, or a Pleasantly Proud of One’s …

Ah, ah, ah, ah. Great lord, heat, light, hit, hit, ah, ah, ah, divine love, and lust, must, must, yours, Great Lord, …

“What’s the chance of finding one?” I ask as we bat through the Acacia forest surrounding the swamp. “Not high. We’ve been …

The patron was in ecstasy when the big breasted singer smiled meekly at him. Her top was stretched taut and damp with …

Life can change in an instance. For Linda Robinson, it took less than three minutes according to the CCTV footage. Martin, her …

100 words using Patron, Meekly, Damp, Ecstasy It was a blood moon. ‘Excuse me.’ Red talons and exiguous heels, she surveyed the …

Stringybark Just for Fun 100 words using Patron, Meekly, Damp, Ecstasy The armholes of her nightie are damp as she leans over …

Life Imitates Art: Retrospective (A play in three scenes.)   Characters: Mario – a young man looking for love; Mel – a …

(100 word story using the following words: damp, meekly, patron, ecstasy) Shaded lamp in hand, Sister Monica crept out of her damp …

I knew when I saw her face I’d be dead that afternoon. The smile so frighteningly sweet, her purple cat’s eyes aglow. …

Mama say to come here. To escape Tall Ones. Mama say Daga knows Tall Ones’ hearts. Daga wise , Mama say. Daga …

The train stalls; she feels her pocket for her passport and ticket, hugs her knees. Dirty snow speckles the thick window. She …

“Oh, Mrs G, that’s lovely that is. You’re so clever.” The young woman in her navy polo says as she arches her …

Upturned leaves glide in. Their umber-clad skeletons disrupt the dance of sun on water, then cast shadows on the tiles below.   …

They say that youth is wasted on the young. I think there’s certainly some truth to it. But it’s also a little …

It was the first time she’d been here since Helen had been reported missing. By rights she should have been at home …

Lisa sips at her zero-alcohol beer and stares at splashes of red and white as they wrestle over the sponsor-encrusted grass like …

The sign above the carpark entrance declares ‘Throgmorton’s Real Life Railways’, underlined by a set of railway tracks. A locomotive steams its …

  She’s exhausted. She wants to go back to the beginning, but she’s lost, lost. Too many people on the streets; cars …

George has been pouring drinks for Carol at the local pub ever since she moved into the area fifteen years ago. He …

My toes are hanging over the edge as water crashes into the rocks far below. The Pigram Brothers sing of it, but …

A piece to mark International Women’s Day on 08 March: A short story about a woman and a place using picture prompts …

A wise man once said that ‘bad things will happen to you if you live long enough’. It rang true for Irene …

  London was never this dark. Not even with the fog black as soot and thick as a toff’s curtains did it …

She shrieked. He saw a flash of bare skin and in his mind lights flared in a hospital room but vanished as …

They are lapdogs at the foot of my bed.  One is charity, a pallid young man seeking alms for those he has …

The floorboards are stark and withered. Blood from the man I just shot seeps in between wide cracks. Normally there is a …

The man stood at the massive carved doors, with its monumental forged handles and hinges. At the top, embossed with gold leaf, …

1. Sam sat in the darkened granny flat, slightly removed from her grandfather who lay dying in the bed. The old man’s …

  No coward soul is mine; no trembler in the world’s storm-troubled sphere, she always murmured. Before every protest, every demonstration, she …

Fred studied his reflection on the bathroom mirror. He felt awkward looking at himself like this. He had seen himself either shaving …

‘Here’s number eighteen,’ Caleb whispered. Zac knocked. A footman opened the door. ‘We’re here about the cockroach infestation,’ said Zac. ‘I assure …

A short story describing a place without using an adjective or adverb. Audis, Beamers, and Mercs force us against the tea trees …

‘Hey Babe, my boss is hosting the work Christmas party this year at his house. Partners are invited. So you need to …

Do you remember summer in the seventies?  I do.  As my eyelids lower under the weight of a glass of chardonnay and …

David looked at his watch.  Five minutes to the end of the sermon, he reckoned. A couple of closing hymns, a prayer, …

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 …

  ‘Acidic,’ I smile. ‘Some certainly are; in fact many I come across.’ The guy doesn’t know whether to grin – am …

Dry autumn leaves swirl and scrape the pavements Making a sound like a drummer’s brush on a hi-hat, A furious wind pours …

Thine birthday was a grand and hearty feast; We supped on fowl, roast beef and bread not stale. We gorged so much …

No! A needle jammed in the groove of busyness. No room to think. Full!   Blah! Words tumble, meaningless, inconsequential, Stop!   …

THE DOCTOR I should be dead. The news of my passing was published in the newspaper. Dr. John McMahon – Paediatrician, was …

In my time I seen some mighty perplexing things on this here river. One night one of those big steamboats ran aground …

“You’re gonna do what?” “Enter the UTA,” Izzy repeats, lifting the half-empty wine glass to her lips. Damn she should have ordered …

  ‘It is the stillest words that bring on the storm’                       …

We travelled down the highway that January, in a brief interlude between the fires. The air was sticky, and firedust riddled the …

Geoffrey shut his eyes, telling himself to focus, focus. See the Mona Lisa, not the world beyond. He steadied himself and took …

Only a month after Ricardo moved in, he revealed his many faults. He had little regard for the way I’d laid out …

The evening had started with the calls of the neighbourhood magpies at sunset. They were the first to herald the end of …

The vehicle screeched to a halt in a cloud of red dust. Joffra and Mitch leapt from the rover, firing their lasers …

Boris flinched like a child, moved swiftly across the cell and hovered beside me; unexpected, this late in the day. ‘What’s your …

11.55 PM, 8 March 2023* Tick. Tick. Tick. She watches the clock. The moon is full, painting the damp blades of kikuyu …

  Long hard unclean. The day. The coffin. Encrusted by the wind in topsoil. White soil. Freckling my black skirt. My mother’s …

Continuing on from part 1 which was published in December …   On the third date I invited him in for a …

He set about his practice with the thoroughness of an auditor. Trying to remain inconspicuous, he spent the remainder of the afternoon …

Friday I first saw him when he was my checkout assistant in the local supermarket on my drive home from work on …

I blame the gods for what befell me, and claim my triumph for myself. I am born of dust. The place where …

Blossom Nathaniel gazes bleary-eyed at the burgeoning blossoms on the ornamental plum outside his house. Buds like small bombs about to burst …

The next morning, Amy woke up and sat on the side of her bed. She recalled her career conversation with her parents …

Did you know that the word “cynanthropy” means the ability to shape shift into a dog? A second definition of it was …

‘It’s rising too fast, we’ll drown if we don’t get out now,’ Pearl cried as you sloshed through the sodden hallway. That …

“About us – we at midnight, slaves,  Chained to a tottering world”*   “Look at them.” Titus** stretches his lithe trunk over …

I Very great or intense/Having or showing great knowledge or insight/The deepest part of something, especially the ocean. II “Every man, when …

‘Do you think that Mum will make it till Christmas?’ Maryanne asked her sister Thelma while helping herself with a glass of …

‘Lucy!’ ‘Hello stranger,’ said Lucy’s voice. ‘Great to hear your voice.’ ‘Really?’ she said. ‘Of course,’ Geoffrey replied. ‘Not too eager?’ she …

It’s nearly Christmas. Hey fellas, know anyone who wants to buy a second hand bible? It is the best book on earth. …

Under a cavernous, velvety sky with a gibbous moon floating like a silver dinar above the mountaintops, a travelling minstrel and his …

The Christmas tree is ginormous again! It’s bigger even than the building Dad works in. I went there once. It’s a brick …

I came home today in a state of glorious hope. You know that feeling when you get home and take off the …

Baby’s first Christmas Wide eyed curious chuckle Engraved on our hearts    

“What is going on Liza?” “He’s a fraud Dad.” “How do you know?” “I was living with him.” “WHAT? Where?” “Here.” “WHAT? …

“What is going on Liza?” “He’s a fraud Dad.” “How do you know?” “I was living with him.” “WHAT? Where?” “Here.” “WHAT? …

  Christmas eve was its usual self: expectant, dissatisfied, drunk. But still a glass half-full. Sahara leaned her tired shoulders against the …

Jesus? New toys! :-J Fake, faux, real? :-/ End-of-year drinks. %-) Tap if you’re ready. Declined. :{ Who stole the chocolate from …

The dust scatters in the stiff October breeze as Liza’s mother lifts her hand to toss a handful of fresh earth onto …

‘Hi sweetie, welcome back. I’ve missed you.  How was Stanthorpe?’ Amy’s mother asked as she picked Amy up from the airport. ‘It’s …

  Ava has been on the light rail for about two hours, possibly more; she’s not sure. A guard waved at her …

‘An eight year old dog is what, fifty-six in dog years?’ The man called Tony watched the terrier gouging the surface of …

Geoffrey sat nervously on the couch. He stared at the phone in his hand. He thought of Lucy. It’s, what, 6am over …

A schoolroom, North Yorkshire, 1840 I begged Charlotte to teach alone today; I cannot bear the girls’ scathing eyes. She tells me …

It was unusual when Mr Johnson didn’t show up for his monthly armoury of medication. He’s a regular, which is how my …

A man stood in front of the bathroom mirror. That morning he had retrieved the mirror from a pile of discarded items …

“Hey Pa.” “Liza,” the old man raises his head from a thick volume at his lap and nods, as she steps across …

He pulls his bowler hat down tight over his closely-shaven head and steps out into the cold night, his heavy boots making …

Amy stepped out of the plane and was surprised by the cooler temperature in Stanthorpe.  A light breeze brushed across her face …

He sank into the outdoor couch and gazed at the stars. The night beach rolled out of sight across the dune. The …

Anton woke. The electric numbers said 2.44. Vague streetlight was etched on his curtains. Beyond the white shadow of his wardrobe was …

Just after the turnoff to Griffith on the Sturt Highway, Jackson hit the brakes. The tyres squealed. He pulled the truck over …

Today was the departure date for Amy to make her train journey to Stanthorpe.  She was to spend her term break with …

It’s pretty amazing how one could figure out the climate of a place from millions of years ago by studying the side …

The man stands at the door with a satchel in his hand. Can I help you? says the woman. She looks at …

  The light changes: red for the cars, a little green walking man for us pedestrians. Then the little man changes into …

‘What the hell was he doing down there?’ Cara wiggled her hips and attempted to steer him into the right area. She …

“Hi, I’m Jack.” Liza’s boyfriend sticks out a smooth palm towards her Grandfather, as the screen door swings listless behind her. Her …

No no no no no no no no no no no no It’s not that big! It’s a trick, done with mirrors …

  You wave at them from the end of the street. The sun pours into your eyes like lava but you’re certain …

No, No! I love being here, naked and on display. Without a shred of covering except the blue satin choker and that …

Out of the Frying Pan She ran through the trees, her mind aflame with terror; the cage, the shut oven, the screams, …

“It’s howling!” “No, it’s just a breeze”.  She stares at her grandfather as he leans against the door, his worn flannelette shirt …

Lysandra opened her eyes and wished she were still asleep. Her head pounded as though a team of stonemasons was carving a …

The kiss was tingling. She’d waited all night, watching him across the room, his face glittering red under the disco ball. His …

It all began with Marty’s pail of weed. And I mean pail – one of those galvanised steel pails your grandma had …

* This piece is a response to Rob Wilcher’s beautiful poem “Carry the Water”.   The stream eddies, as his hand drifts. …

Jenna could not believe her luck as she followed Jeremy down the sandy wooden path that led to the beach. Was this …

They say your life flashes before you when you die. They are wrong. It’s your future you see. Like when you lean …

The boy watched the old man crouched By the pool in the sun stirring the water With an even hand. He was …

The shooting started at around 4.30 pm; most of the neighbourhood mothers had herded their kids inside and were probably doing what …

Fred takes one of the nails he holds between his lips and places it against the timber, hammering it home with far …

“MUM.  Did you send it?” Clara’s twelve-year-old selfishness stole her thoughts … again.  “Are you listening to me?” Her daughter stomped her …

For Sheila and Roger   Let us go then, you and I, to gape at sunsets spread across the sky, that meld …

‘Chintana darling, I’m going to be late tonight.  Please don’t wait up for me.’ ‘Alright Auntie Tok, have a great night.  Don’t …

your father beat you or someone else in the family your mum or one of your siblings,   when the air is …

For Oliver The little seed is still, black, alone. He lays flat against the earth; waiting. Waiting for what?  For the right …

Saint Valentine of Rome was a priest, In the 3rd century AD, But the specific day of his feast – The 14th …

It was a song oft repeated around the sly grog shops and two-up schools of the great metropolis. Some say Jim Grey …

‘You’ll need this, Inspector,’ said the officer manning the door to the freezer room. He handed the Inspector a heavy padded jacket, …

That Dickens bloke lied. Yes, it was the worst of times, the best of times, etc etc, and yes, the world was …

Dad’s firm had a Christmas picnic at a park in Canterbury where all the families came and ate sausages in bread and …

There was no answer. Geoffrey pulled open the fly screen door and ran inside. He was scared of what he might find. …

A heavy foot shoved his face into the water. He heard ‘Move grommet’ before the fuzz of the surf smothered him. He …

‘Have you balanced yet, Lothar? We can’t be staying here all evening.’ ‘Almost, Herr L-Langmann,’ said Lothar, his cheeks flushing red. He …

“Me, me, me, me, me, me, me.”  Val can hear them as they flit between the soft cream lounges and the clinking …

The box is light as always. But that means very little. It’s what’s inside that counts. Don’t judge a book by its …

Joe stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel.  He threw the towel over his head and rubbed really hard …

I never saw the murderer that Christmas day. Bonnie did, and Moss – or so they said. Mama told me not to …

Tom looked out the window from his large and luxurious hotel bed.  The Tokyo skyline was strangely eerie.  The aircraft warning lights …

Shahezah the witch raised her hooked staff high, high above into the sky, unlatched the hasp of a cloud and, with an …

My immediate thought when I first set eyes on her was not ‘what a warm smile’ or ‘I love the dual pigtail …

Ten minutes along the freeway he came across the site of last night’s accident and pulled over. The rig stood battered and …

  See this woman. Maybe viewed as doing okay by some. Lives in a cramped rented flat near Botany with her two …

I remember when Rodney Fletcher first started coming for dinner. I was almost fifteen. My brother Joey was eighteen and a half. …

The spectators cheered as the juggler hurled the fire sticks into the air. They soared into the darkening sky, spinning end over …

How could he not know? “Why, why, why?” he howls till I silence him.  A slither of red dribbles from my father’s …

“What size jacket: thirty-four?” Pink cuticles expertly retrieve a black suit from the rack. “Oh no way,” I reply, confident my last …

“Close your eyes,” molasses smooth, his voice beckons.  Spidery fingers stroke my papery cheeks. Liquid slurps from a flask at my bedside. …

‘Mum, will I be okay at school tomorrow?’ Georgina asked her mother whilst holding tightly onto her mother’s waist. ‘Oh sweetheart, I …

Geoffrey flinched as the sun cut into his eyelids. In his fatigue last night he hadn’t closed the curtains. He blocked the …

The Royal Barge bumped against the quay. Lysandra, who had been dozing, grumbled when Jena tapped on the door. ‘Princess, we are …

“Good grief, witches,” said the old professor as he descended the old wooden stairs to the basement. The four harridans seated around …

She’s here! God, I can’t do this. – Hi, Jessica, we met… Too earnest. – Hi Jess, remember me? From … I’m …

Poor old farmer Joe never stood a chance. Wiping the remnants of the morning’s fried egg from the corner of his mouth …

  After the funeral the girl’s mother won’t let her go near the old man who has been sitting at the back …

Coins cascade into the parking meter. The dial spins.  Half an hour in the oxy tank will flush the toxins. Post-nuclear air …

The pew is shiny and hard beneath her fingers as she curls them beside her tucked knees.  She leans forward, eager to …

“Marry me?” His loud plea is swallowed by the cold gray of giant housing blocks. Windows slam shut. Blinds drop. I twitch. …

Draygon hated drone fighting. The Moon, Mars, Neptune, it was always the same despite climatic differences: the drones always got so covered …

Geoffrey sat inside the ambulance wrapped in a blanket, blandly watching the scene before him. Two other ambulances, two fire trucks and …

‘More salmon, Jake!’ The American launched a fat arm across the table to grab the only platter of fish, sending a 1980 …

No, no, no!  I scuttle left, right, back, forward, my antennae twitch frantically searching for the rich dark warmth of the earth. …

Jerry closed the basement door behind him and listened to the clinking of chains on the other side of the door.  He …

Hell is other people.                    – Sartre   There’s no denying it: Vanya’s a hero. Brave and fearless, he returned from the …

Ben was puffing from having sprinted down the platform. Thirty years ago he wouldn’t have raised a sweat, but now his legs …

  I. I am going to Turkey.   Post covid, of course. When – I don’t know. Where – mainly Istanbul. How …

The door whines shut as heaving workman lever the latches shut.  Finally, it’s dark. “Are they gone?”  A tiny twelve-inch monitor blinks …

The surface of the Great River was completely still. Leaning over the rail of the royal barge, Lysandra gasped at the beauty …

Unfamiliar strings of sinew are lodged between her teeth and Beth pokes absently at them, eager to dispel the odd sensation, but …

“I lub you too.” A four-year-old James said to his father with a little wave goodbye.  He was excited to meet his …

You summon me with your constant chatter; loud, insistent, beckoning, as you weave and wander your way through the valley far below. …

Right or left? Both tracks from the junction taunt you.  Both disappear into a heat that broils the earth. In both directions, …

When I bought my new dress you smiled cheekily, lasciviously. At my graduation you put your arm around me, And said, “she’s …

Mary hung the last pair of black cotton knickers from the laundry basket, onto the white clothes horse. She stood back and …

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 …

My pride, my joy My castle, sanctuary My home   Dust, dirt, cracks Rust, leaks, gaps   Fingers scrubbed, patched and painted …

“Forty Love.  Match point,” John called out after his tennis partner on the other side of the net failed to return his …

Oh glorious, silver orb, your beams drip deep through the dank damp earth until they reach me here in my resting place. …

A drifter, my Pa had said. A young girl just passin’ through. I seen her next day in the big barn, watchin’ …

“Are you fucking kidding?” “Oh darling, you know the deal – you’re a coathanger for their Art.” “It’s a bit of tin …

“Have you seen the curve?”  Beth’s father slurs, as she shuffles softly towards the living area. His eyes are riddled with delicate …

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 …

  Please, he says, as sternly as possible. A bit too sternly though: he hasn’t used that tone for years. He flinches, …

My blade is sharpened before you, oh God Most High. I am ready to use it. I am prostrate. I prostrate myself …

Andrew fingered the manuscript on the chipped formica table in front of him and looked out the cafe window for Vanya. St …

Terry looked up from behind his computer as his colleague entered the room. The neon from the tower opposite them spread a …

“Ping.” Busy, I’ll check that later. “Ping.” I really don’t have time for this.  1:20. Boss wants this report on his desk …

“This better be good. I’ve got a network to run. My clock is ticking. Who’s this?”  Vlad freezes as he steps into …

Tara loved living near the mangroves, where the tides rolled in and out every day. At high tide the water was bustling …

  And, after all these years, she still can’t touch it. Snow. It makes it difficult, living in a mountainous atmosphere. Every …

It was worth it wasn’t it?  The Lamborghini 350GT, the two mercs, the houses and farms, the fashion, oh my, the fashion, …

“Oombawa oombawa oombawa!” “Eeni teeni weeni ayo!” “Mmmmm whoopee! Whoopee! Higher higher higher hoo ha!” “Oombawa! Calamar! Oombawa! Calamar!” “Ooh aahh! Ooh …

The Mountain Climber’s Beginning Let me tell you a story. Just three nights ago I was in a public bar, in …

She had often thought of killing him. The reverend had joked about that once in a sermon on marriage. “I said to …

“Jack, mate, how are you? I didn’t think you’ld be back for a few days.” Beth can hear a man calling to …

  Your neck is on the guillotine. Its sharpness gleams above you, the base is already cutting into your throat. You’re choking …

The sky was dark and the wind was howling.  Julia looked up at her mother hoping that she would see the menace …

Mary left the coffee shop in Shanghai Pudong airport where she had spent the last hour passing the time.  Her excitement grew …

Lysandra felt almost invisible in her black cloak as she hurried in the darkness down the Avenue of the Pharaohs. The shadowy …

Shadows – always the shadows! Do I seek them, or they seek me? They cast their imagination across drooping ribbon bark. Flicker, …

Caroline stepped off the greyhound bus and onto the dusty red earth. She threw her backpack onto the ground and watched a …

A blur of blue and white light. Voices. Electronic beeps. Geoffrey’s head pounded. He moved his arm. His limbs were lead. It …

It was when Albert backed the car into the driveway and turned off the engine that he got stuck. It wasn’t the …

There was grumbling at the station The news had reached the men That their favourite cook, Asian Jack, had received the DCM. …

‘What you get is no tomorrow’  David Bowie, Fame   After her best friend was killed in the Paris restaurant by ISIL …

Back in her private chambers it took a long time for Lysandra’s tears to stop flowing. Sitting on the end of the …

Impotence beats a steady drum at her temples as Beth retreats to the sanctity of her privacy pod. Her small lithe fingers …

This piece is an 800 words piece for a spoken voice competition:  Entanglement – Voices of Women.  https://voiceswomen.com/entanglement/.  It was written in …

When we stop, blind bodies collapse in a mound of sick, sweat and BO. I scramble to breathe. Someone kicks me. Yusef …

Lysandra’s right foot came out of her sandal as she took the bend at pace. A troop of Roman soldiers marching in …

“Dennis, Dennis.” “What is it, darling?” said the elderly man behind the shopping trolley to his wife who was hovering about like …

…A Tale Told in Triptych…   CHAPTER 1: WHITE TSARINA    After they told me my boy was a haemophiliac I believed I …

Cindy leant her weight to push open the heavy glass door that bore the words “Jessica Mulgrave, Solicitor” in gold plate at …

Henry listened to the soothing and rhythmic sound of the car tyres thumping on the road. The weather was great.  He had not …

“The magic lasts only a couple of minutes.  You’ve got to be ready, here it comes.” Dr. Tom Robertson said to himself …

Geoffrey stood on the roadside in the morning sun. Peak hour had just begun, and cars were starting to queue in the …

“Well?” Beth’s brother Jack demands as she returns to the apartment she shares with three generations of her family. “Well, what?” Beth …

https://themovingpen.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Boreas-Street-3.m4a Sarah strides across the strip of hard black sand, her toes kicking at the pebbles. Like marbles in a schoolyard, …

“Oi, Scrubs, do us a solid will ya?” shouted the man in the overcoat to another some way ahead of him in …

Bradley, a five year old boy with too much energy for the day, looked out of the vast window of his apartment …

Life is short.  According to palmistry, a lack of lifeline meant a short life. “Mary, your lifeline is so faint that I …

Three ghosts live in this toilet block.  They were students of this school.  It’s been said that you could see the long …

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 …

Geoffrey sat on the blue vinyl chair in the waiting room beside a reception desk piled with mail and files. The receptionist’s …

‘I didn’t expect you this early, Dad.’ She was as brittle as usual, a blonde shadow, sitting stiffly in the velvet gold …

Anna hung up the phone and punched the air “Yes, Yes, Yes!!” She pushed back her grey chair and danced on the …

You’re in the air, swirling, when a face gazes from the tiles below. Hitting the water, your perfect half-twist dive is knotted …

The year is 2120. Beth blinks and refocuses on the text.  They can’t be serious.  She stops, breathes slowly, carefully, aware every …

She kneels, her back heaving and pushing. Every muscle straining. Doc Martins scuff and push against the footpath. Passersby glance, then stop; …

Santa (real name Andrew Smith, employee name Ian Goldsworthy) beamed joy to the puddle of mums and prams and toddlers in his …

H  –  That was a good day, all things considered. W  – Oh, I’m full. Just got this glass. (Holds up glass …

Ah yes, The Barnacles! Don’t they seem to just grow right out of the rocky shores of Sydney Harbour. Regular readers of …

‘Oh good grief,’ whispered Jennifer to husband Jason, ‘it’s Uncle Frank.’ The waft came first, steaming feathermeal and river mud, followed by …

“Well fuck Scott Morrison anyway!” Laura bounded into the sitting room of the dilapidated share house in Bondi and slumped onto the …

The gauche fitout of the salon was far from calming. As she lay naked under the towel, Irena took in black drapes …

Geoffrey woke. The room was still dark, although day was up, and shreds of light stained the rims of the blinds which …

“Gentlemen, please place your bets.”  Marcia announced to her two younger siblings Tom and Peter as she laid out the table for …

A few days before Christmas we got a new puppy. We called her Ruby. She was very cute, with big floppy ears …

‘For chrissakes, put it away!’ We winced as Aunty Vi bellowed at my cousin again, her voice as subtle as a dying …

Oh God, she was beautiful! Ra’s heart belted against his ribcage each time he thought of her – let alone his groin.  …

“Have you got everything”? she asks. “A huh,” the small child nods, his pudgy arms gripping hard at the backpack hugged to …

Joey The wind blowing off Lake Michigan gives me jitters. It’s rattling the trolley wires, and the street lights hanging off them …

The white fluorescent lights of the modern classroom hurt Harold’s eyes as he walked into his sixth form class after lunch. He …

THUMP! CRASH! A deafening sound broke the silence of another peaceful evening in the cosy home of Miriam.  Miriam woke from her slumber …

  From the other side I watch them enter the church. Sitting at the altar, beside the priest, just near the satiny …

I steer the ute out along a dirt track for a while and stop only when I feel it is safe. I …

“You know this woman?” Judith shoved the dog-eared photograph at the barman. He studied it and launched a chubby finger to her …

Geoffrey prodded the white surgical tape that held the plastic cover over his right eye. By dodging his head one way and …

Paradiddle, flam, blam, now the side tom, boom boom boom, kick drum, snare, sticks in the air, roll it ‘n’ swing, shake …

Laura clicked off the tv with the worn-out remote and tossed it onto the battered coffee table. She sighed and lent her …

Peter counted the iPhones in the box at least a dozen times.  He was definitely missing a few.  He returned nervously to …

“I miss Samantha.  She was so athletic and good-looking.  She used to bring home rats half her own size, being so petite …

  ‘Loonies speak their own language, like educated people.’ The Tree of Man, Patrick White     Let’s just walk, let’s just …

Mihaela thought for a moment that she’d gone too far. “Hey! We’re all admiring your buns in those stretchy pants, Jen.” She’d …

Helena stepped back from the edge a second time. Breakers thudded against the rocks below and the sea-breeze ruffled the folds of …

The shade from the London plane trees does a good job of extracting the sting of the sun. Now winter is over …

The bar heaved with the heat of drinkers, talkers and hangers-on. At the far end of the space, beyond shadowed dancing hordes, …

“I’ll need you to drive,” said Dave when they arrived at his Audi. “I’ve got a couple of phone calls to make.” …

The old man turned the skiff homeward. It had not been a successful day. The sea had misled him.  His pots were …

“Shona, why are you gripping the stern rail so tight? Are you seasick?” Oh Christ! It’s Veronica, the gym junkie. “Just enjoying …

Sho Sushi was a traditional Japanese restaurant nestled in the main street of a small fishing village west of Japan.  An elderly …

It was my first time. The rifle was slippery in my fingers, and Jojo laughed when I nearly dropped it. I’d seen …

The crisp air assailed them as they stepped outside. Dawn had not yet appeared, and the sky was glass clear, the moon …

Back in his apartment, Geoffrey dialled the number of the only person he thought might understand his dilemma. “Dave, it’s Geoff.” “Geoffrey, …

“Show me where the diamonds are, Lehmann!” Lehmann’s face reddened under the throttle hold of the thug who held him over the …

“Shoes, sunshine, ships or shore Love me rich, love me poor.” It was a song her grandmother had taught her as a …

  ‘It’s hurting,’ mumbled the old man. He shuffled in the seat, closed his eyes to the fluorescent light above him. The …

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO JEREMY MANKIN? by DAVID SAFFORD Everyone in Whispering Harbor knew that Jeremy Mankin wasn’t fishing with the sharpest hook. …

Annie sat at the bottom of the stairs looking at the back of the blue front door, the house still reverberating from …

Ben sat uncomfortably on a lumpy chair in front of Mary, his company’s HR manager. “Ben, you need to tell your trainee …

As I approached my death I came upon a man seated On the stoop of the Doorway To the End of Life. …

Leo lay languidly under the acacia tree, picking at the morsels of meat caught between his molars. He thought about nothing in …

The ringing phone was a premonition coming true. Jane had known to expect it when the storm began to lash the hills …

Meredith and Toby sat in abject terror on the chaise longue where they had, until this moment, been enthusiastically making out, staring …

The evening had begun its descent into a sepia haze as they drove the dirt track through low sparse scrub. A red …

A million doubts flooded his mind. He had never really contemplated his own death before. Sure, he knew he was going to …

The assembled gods declared, “The Mortals mock us! We must combine our eternal fluids and make a god so awesome they will …

There is another test next week.  Mel slumped over her desk feeling the dread.  Then she remembered the rumours that had been …

‘Mum, I’m bored. Can we go to the shops?’ Corey’s mum held up her hand to shoosh him and told the Zoomed …

The stadium roars like a thunderbolt. So loud her chest vibrates. Are the heavens pulsating? Is it war out there, or just …

Geoffrey walked along a narrow lane of boutique shops up to the main road. Two lanes of night time traffic swirled past, …

Mum says being dead is like being asleep except you don’t wake up. Which is silly. I have a sleepover at Andy’s …

It was a stormy Sunday night.   When the lightning bolts lit up the sky, they revealed an eerie landscape shrouded by …

Hotel 25 – affectionately known as The Two and Five by its regular guests – was a squat boutique hotel hidden in …

Alex’s hands were steady as he unlocked the door to the empty house. Inside, he stood totally still, listening to the silence. …

Andrea sat at the large formal reception desk staring at her blood red nails and scrutinizing her cuticles. With the stark fluorescent …

The sound of the crash ripped apart the hubbub of the pub. Geoffrey and others at the bar paused momentarily to realise …

The blue sky was striking.  The fluffy white clouds resembled little bunnies waiting around for their mother.  Tom was nine.  He stopped …

  ‘I’m telling you, garbagemen can deal with anything. The smell of corpses, shit, rotten eggs. The worst stink in the world, …

Winter One winter’s day at sunset, four sulphur-crested cockatoos landed on my fence – one bird for each of the seasons. It …

I was a slight kid, some say cheeky, but not one of the muscular kids. There was one kid, a couple of …

There is that one dazzling slo-mo moment, when the kick goes up and the ball ascends towards the heavens, and with it, …

The white flash, then the savage crack of thunder, the flash again and the rain attacked the night. The storm had come. …

“Julianne, look what the cat dragged in. Over at Chanel,” said Suzanne, a coiffured blonde in charge of Lancôme. In front of …

An estimated five thousand people amassed in the plaza that day, some said more. Jess was one, masked, arm in arm with …

Geoffrey was floating, high and joyous amidst the whirring fans and rafters of the pub, slowly revolving in his private heaven.  The …

The brown squishy excrement slid down the bus window leaving a trail behind it, like a slug on a dewy morning. The …

  Ilse cowers; her body trembles. All because she knows, immediately, who she has collided with while rounding the blitzed corner. Despite …

SCHOOL The funeral for her mother over the weekend gave Matilda a chance to see her cousin Susan again.  They grew up …

Elias’s cheeks were burning. He strode down the corridor, barely looking at his father walking beside him. The sound of the rain …

The woman and the dog walked through the park. Viewed from afar, their various colours against the vibrant green of the spring …