She peers at him closely, her plump eyelids narrowing until her gaze is forced through two pale slits. ‘How do you feel?’ she asks, her voice carefully laid out before him, controlled and well-rehearsed. ‘Fine nurse,’ he replies, flashing a smile. ‘Any nausea?’ He shakes his head. ‘Do you feel anxious or depressed?’ ‘Not at …
Category Archives: Fiction
Fiction: ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’
It was a strange thing to come by in the middle of the forest. Amongst the ancient trees and a thick carpet of green moss was a table with two matching chairs whittled out of tree stumps. Each chair was tucked neatly and considerately under the table. There were no people or houses for miles …
Fiction: ‘The Man Who Sold the World’
The house looked old and dilapidated from the outside. Tiles had slid off the roof, pigeons were nesting in the rafters, and the paint had peeled away from the walls, leaving a dreary patchwork of greys on the splintered wood. But never was that tired old line truer; that true beauty is found within. The …
Fiction: ‘The Magician – Part 2’
She sits on the cool tiled floor of her apartment, watching the sunrise paint the walls with splashes of fire. Silver birds skim across the section of sky in the window. A pale moon glistens on the horizon before slowly dissolving with the coming dawn. The gloves lie in her lap. She runs her fingers …
Fiction: ‘Dust’
Dust. Dust finer than flour. Dust caked in the soles of my boots and in the creases of my suit. Dust coating my visor with a thin layer that makes everything shimmer. Dust in the threads of all the screws holding the panels of the ship together. Dust in the mechanics of the engine. Dust …
Fiction: ‘Little Lives’
She flutters above the flowers, her wings shimmering in the golden light. The gentle scent of daisies rises from the ground. She settles onto the pure white petals of a cheerful little flower, and drinks from its yellow centre. The light changes to a cool silver. Large clear drops begin to shake the blades of …
Fiction: ‘Body and Soul’
It used to be spectacular. It was the sort of instrument that was given pride of place in the music shop. The display lights in the store crowned it with a halo as passers-by stopped to admire its well-made form. The polished body gleamed under the lights. And anyone who saw it could swear they …
Fiction: ‘Eden’
Deep beneath a land that no-one dares to cross, in a country few have heard of, on a continent many have never seen, is a series of caves no human has ever committed to a map. They run for many miles below a barren stretch of desert. This hollow maze twists and turns and doubles …
Fiction: ‘The Starlight Princess and the Lightning Prince’
Once upon a time, a beautiful star fell in love with a flash of lightning. She was twinkling merrily in the sky, watching over the world from her position in the constellations, when a brilliant flash lit up the darkness. He was brighter than any star she had ever seen. The electricity in the air …
Fiction: ‘Through the Wall’
Last night I could hear them through the wall again. Our walls are very thin. You can hear everything, even when you don’t want to. The voices were angry and started yelling all those words that mum made me promise never to say.
Laney started crying. She’s my baby sister. She’s only one year old …
Writing on Tangents 