– Rob Walton If it didn’t say PLEASE DO NOT BEND on the envelope, she would always make a point of bending, creasing, folding if possible. Her ‘bad back’, wear and tear between the fourth and fifth vertebrae, meant that the folding sometimes hurt. But it was worth it. Parcels could be shoved through the…
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– Nicholas Murray Amelia ran her fingers along the ornate shelves in her father’s library. She noted the colours as she traced the curve of each spine. Green. Red. Blue. Green… The sound of chatter floated softly through the door. Her father was hosting a party, mainly to appear keen to a handful of MPs…
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– Brindley Hallam Dennis You’ll like this one. Twelve years old. Water? No thanks. He takes it neat. You’ll have some. Yes? Slange. So. Have you heard from Katie? Yes. She e-mailed. Katie was Ben’s first wife. What did she say? It was a bit confused. I’m not sure she said anything. That sounds like…
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– Viccy Adams Lunch ends with the head waiter kissing my grandmother on both cheeks. He calls her ‘beautiful girl’ and forgives her for not having eaten more than a few mouthfuls of her melanzane parmigiano. While she appreciates the attention, gran doesn’t understand it– the table behind us are beery loud, she’s slightly cross…
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– Jhaki M.S. Landgrebe Mistakes settled in the warm, spicy clouds of their concrete room. Gochugaru clung to their nose hairs, every nasal gust reminding them it settled, too. He reminded her of himself with a gentle squeeze on her hand. She reminded him of herself by lying still. Perfectly. The couple shared a bed…
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– Graham Connors I remember the first time I saw Geraldine. I parked my cart outside the salon she worked in, taking my time to empty the over flowing bin. She was pottering about inside, singing to herself. Her long hair hung loose around her face and I thought she was the most beautiful woman…
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– Phoebe Hamilton-Jones The water is warm for October. Sarah watches her feet grow green as she wades into it. Soon the green will be so rich that they will disappear. Nick is behind her; he is shy and she senses that he is scared of the water, scared of the swim that they are…
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– Alayna Palmer Hanneken Teran’s hand skitters across the table, each finger like the feeler of a jungle insect, delivering the paisley red cards with swift, flicks of his thumb and index. Adeline remembers how those long fingers, now engorged with power like a tick with blood, used to encase her face, while Teran’s words…
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– David McVey Glass. My husband, Bill, and glass. They must be kept apart. Something seems to snap when he touches glass. In fact, he only has to look at it. Light-bulbs, tumblers, wine glasses, beer mugs, French windows, he’s shattered them all. Mirrors. Now, mirrors are one of his specialities. Whether he’s hanging a…
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