Tag: Fiction

• The Beckoning

  

  “I don’t know why I’m even telling you this,” she says. To the stranger over the phone. At last it has begun for her. Though of course it is over for me.

  Andrew Whalan

  May 20, 2020

  Stories

  Fiction, flashfiction, ghost story, Grief Loss and Bereavement, short stories, short story

• Meeting the Mother in Law

  

  “Meeting the Mother-in-Law,” the nail-polish label said. She held it up. And it suited her. Although it didn’t quite match her hair.

  Andrew Whalan

  April 6, 2020

  Stories

  Fiction, mother in law, same sex marriage, short story

• Window Queen

  My entry in the NYC Midnight Short Story competition…A romantic comedy set in a charitable organisation featuring a window cleaner….

  Andrew Whalan

  April 2, 2018

  Stories

  Fiction, Love, Romantic Comedy, short story

• Write, Rewrite, Then Don’t Rewind : Writing Out Loud #4

  I paid my money didn’t I? I should be able to take my choice then?  No, not when NYC Midnight have their flash fiction competition. One thousand carefully chosen words,  a genre, a scene and an object chosen at random. Forty Eight hours to write it. And on Saturday 15th July, the email arrived. Genre:…

  Andrew Whalan

  July 31, 2017

  Personal

  art, Education, Fiction, short story, working out loud, writing, Writing Out Loud

• A Folded Butterfly

  Andrew Whalan

  June 15, 2017

  Poetry

  butterflly, Fiction, Poetry

• Drenching Human Sheep

  “All rise!” The Court Clerk brayed in a tone of bored authority. The words echoed and then died against the wooden paneling. There was a pause. The door to the left opened. A short bobbing woman entered robed and wigged even though convention didn’t demand it anymore.  The pause followed her and held its breath.…

  Andrew Whalan

  June 12, 2017

  Stories

  Fiction, short story

• The Last Selfie

  The last moments are the scariest, he thought. As he had been told. Apparently you first bob like a cork. Then you are swamped. Then you stretch your arms out to push yourself out of the water. And giving up, your arms and legs climb upward. Then downward. Thus overloaded you sink to the bottom…

  Andrew Whalan

  April 10, 2017

  Stories

  Fiction, Selfie, short stories, short story, Social media

• Baby Crush

  A bald head crowned by a few curls peeks out. Two eyes large and watchful wait and see what I might do. I’m not moving. I stand silent. I’m a daddy statue. Tiny hands cover her eyes. She tries to catch my gaze. No way. I’m having no part of it. Not yet. She opens…

  Andrew Whalan

  March 28, 2017

  Stories

  Child, Childhood, Family, Father, Fiction, Humour, men, Parenting, Relationships, short story, women

• The Great Blow

  I couldn’t feel the heat through my uniform. I couldn’t smell the smoke that made me cough. I couldn’t even hear the roar of the wildfire. The hell and brimstone I heard preached so often is happening to me. And I pray. I place myself in front of God, in faith. It’s like the book…

  Andrew Whalan

  March 27, 2017

  Stories

  America, Fiction, Great Hinckley Fire, History, Minnesota, writing

• The Third Whisper Of Love

  Safe between the cold clouds and their rain How can I ever want for heat again? This warmth will always be enough for me No longer tepid and lukewarm I’ll be.

  Andrew Whalan

  March 22, 2017

  Poetry

  Fiction, Listening, Love, Poetry

• The Happiest Dental Patient Ever

  Was this the last one? I went to the surgery door and called his name. He looked up at once. And his eyes twinkled at me. And he smiled as if he had been in last week!  He walked in arms swinging by his sides as if it was too easy. Tall, thin and vaguely familiar.…

  Andrew Whalan

  March 2, 2017

  Personal, Stories

  Australia, Fiction, Humour, personal, story

• Three Steps Too Many

  Everything seemed perfect. Nothing had changed in years. So much so I forgot where I’d put my wallet and keys. But only momentarily. Everything was as it was. The carpet, that dull dirt brown, with sickly flecks of grey. Brighter than I remembered. No fading, no wear, no patches yet needing repair. The walls too,…

  Andrew Whalan

  May 27, 2016

  Stories

  Fiction, information technology, science fiction, simulation, software, technology