A young man sits opposite Poppy on the train, a large folder open on his lap. Poppy tries hard not to stare at him, but his old-fashioned grey three-piece suit keeps catching her eye. A poppy rests in his buttonhole, even though it is far from Remembrance Day, and a grey bowler hat sits on […]
flash fiction
The Lament (Flash Fiction)
The bow scrapes across the strings, tentative at first, and faltering notes tumble into the twilight. As the prelude gives way to the melody, the bow glides back and forth, and delicate fingers caress the neck of the instrument. I remember those fingers, so long and pale, even in life. The violin sings its mournful […]
Ghost Train – Spooky Fiction set on the London Underground
The train lurches out of the Tottenham Court Road station and rattles east. Elsa flicks from her Kindle app to the clock – another ten minutes and she’ll be at Liverpool Street. Plenty of time to catch the train to Stansted before her flight to Naples. The train slows and rumbles to a stop. Elsa […]
Weaving – A Short Fiction about Fate
Flames blazed in the wall braziers around the stone courtyard. Ornate clocks lined the columns of the cloister, though the hands never moved around their faces. Time hung suspended over the citadel of the Fates, its momentous occasions twinkling like stars in a false firmament. The first sister sat on a stool, her eyes roving […]
The Shadow Cabinet
Prime Minister Etherington sat at his desk, staring at the reports laid out before him. The words swam before his eyes, with particular phrases leering at him. “Possible conspiracy”…. “grave threat to the nation”…. “utmost importance”…. “imminent danger”… “I have no idea what to make of all of this. Can any of it be substantiated?” […]
Free Winter Fiction – Winter’s Bride
Marianne huddles in the corner. Only her hands and nose are visible beneath the heap of moth-eaten blankets in which she swathes herself. The winter chill of December seeps through the old fabric, sinking into her bones. A stub remains of her last candle, and she holds her hands either side of the flickering flame, […]
