There were seven people ahead of me; I know that because I made a point to count them. They stood along the uneven ground, their faces glowing under the neon lights as they waited with the same sort of unspoken impatience. The booth sat apart from the other tents and stalls. Like everything else, it …
Category Archives: Fiction
Fiction: ‘The Gargoyle’
For years he had perched in the same old position, on the same old spot where the sculptor had carved him. The rain had washed away the finer details of his grotesque form and the sun had bleached the stone into a ghostly white. Hideous bat wings sprung from his hunched back, while a set …
Fiction: ‘The Sparrow and the Sun’
There once lived a sparrow who loved the sun with all its heart. All throughout the spring and well into summer, he would perch on the highest branch of the tallest tree and sing to his golden beloved. He sang so sweetly and earnestly that all the people of the town would gather around his …
Fiction: ‘Existence is Futile’
Ageing is inescapable. It’s an inevitable part of being alive, and as certain as death. But then again, maybe not. Over a century ago, our leading neuroscientists made a discovery that changed the course of human evolution. They found out that ageing isn’t just a biological process in which our bodies experience a gradual decline …
Fiction: ‘Hunger’
It looked just like any other well in any other city; deep and dark with smooth sides worn away by the years and an echo as sweet as a bell. The water had dried out long before the eldest living generation had been born. But that never took away from the true value of the …
Fiction: ‘Lyrebird’
She pokes her head out of the nest and looks up at the sky. It’s so blue that it looks violet against the sun. Light spills off the gum leaves that ripple in the breeze high above, while down below the ground is a crosshatch of stringy bark. She withdraws back inside the safety of …
Fiction: ‘Sprites’
She sits above the surface of the water, looking out at the golden sea. Her toes skim the waves as she swings gently backwards and forwards. Backwards and forwards. She holds onto the rusted chains on either side of her with a loose, resigned sort of grip. Her favourite dress is stained with salt. But …
Fiction: ‘Of Fire and Blood’
Always I can see them on the horizon. First they rise high above the skyscrapers, and then they dive down like frenzied birds feeding on a school of fish. The power of their bodies is immense. I thought they wouldn’t look quite so indestructible from above. I was wrong. As our jets raced overhead, I …
Fiction: ‘The Cowardly Soldier’
Under the torchlight, the clearing is filled with an amber glow. The wind is still and all is quiet. Through the branches that arch across the sky, there are thousands of stars glinting in the night. But he doesn’t notice these things. He can’t see the moon ripening into a golden orb, or the snowy …
Fiction: ‘Trip of a Lifetime’
The suffocating smell of incense wafts through the curtain of colourful beads hanging across the doorway. She feels ridiculous for even coming in. But it’s warm inside the little building and the glow of flickering candles is inviting. She takes a deep breath once. Twice. And then parts the beaded strings and steps into the …
Writing on Tangents 