Tag: short stories
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My Username Change
“Hi, I’m calling you back regarding your new username.” “Why thank you,” she trilled. “I’ve changed it from your old surname to your new one.” It was then I chose to become extra customer focussed. “Congratulations! When was the big day?” Silence. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. I’m out here. “It’s already passed,” she…
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Invasion 101
Prepare the invasion fleet. Black space sparkled, gleamed and glistened as our ships came to life. Sleeping soldiers woke, stretched, uncoiled their tendrils, weapons at the ready. I sighed and shook my head.
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Bemused
My fingers close around the remote. One finger starts…And before I reach the on button, it happens. Her voice is in my ear. Thick as honey, she begins…
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Resigned to Staying
The mobile purred. A sleepy finger reached out and pressed answer. “Thought I’d phone in this week’s postcard from afar.” “Lee, I can barely hear you. You sound like you’re croaking it in a drainpipe.” “Only line in town, boss.”
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Hard Knocks
“Three times, “ she said. “Three?” I muttered to myself. “Three times,” she answered. “Then you’ll know. That’s when you up and leave.” I’d lost track of the number of chances I’d given. Only when things were tapering off towards the end did I start to keep track. Tens, twenties, hundreds. Three would have had…
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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
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Not the Naughty List
“Get back to work,” a fat voice bellowed. Sherry Wintersleigh yawned, stretched her arms wider and opened her eyes. “What, what, what,” she began. “He’s always like this,” whispered a passing elf. “But Christmas is…,” Sherry said. The shadow standing over her shook his finger at her. “You heard what I said,” bellowed Santa. “On…
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The Curious Case of the Endless Linen
We would arrive at the same time. Opening time. 7:30am. I’d see him standing at the door, five or six laundry bags at his feet. A small wizened man, the classic caretaker from central casting. Behind the double glass doors, I saw the proprietor waiting. A grey man worn down by time and with little time…
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Breathe For Me
Breathe for me.Watching you sip each breath, I want to breathe for you. I want to inhale oxygen, pass it from my lungs to yours. And from there into that heart I love so much. You hold my hand. I hold yours. You must hear my words for you. Wait and hope. You were to grow…
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The Prayer Book
“Is this yours?” Five fingers first appeared. Next a hand. Holding what? A notebook? A leather-bound notebook? Perhaps it’s a small purse? Or perhaps a pocketbook? A prayer book. I leaned across my luggage trolley for a closer look. The Way of the Pilgrim: A Devotional Journey. I read. Oh no. “Is that yours?” the finder repeated. A waif.…