As I enter the kitchen a pancake peels from the roof, falls like a defective hoverboard and splatters upon the wooden floor. Cracked eggs litter the bench. Flour covers the floor. Smoke claws at my eyes and throat. A disaster zone. And in its centre, Sally twitches. ‘Mum, bot’s on the blink again!’ Afterword The […]
With a sizzle, the sparkler ignited. A dazzling shower of light illuminated his birthday cake. Susan’s smile shone brighter still. As she placed his cake before him, he stole the sparkler and carved three words in the air. Words he’d tried and failed to say for the first time yesterday: I love you. Afterword The
Pure chaos grips the mansion’s moonlit gallery, with every painting rattling. “This is no ordinary ghost,” I say. The owner whimpers. I burn incense and chant made-up words. A window shatters, and the ghost is gone. Gone to the next mansion we selected. We banded together a while back; it’s proven quite profitable. Afterword The
The all-female army marches to war. No doubt over territory and resources. I keep still as soldier after loyal soldier of the queen pass me, silent and determined. The warrior at the front of the orderly line scales a rock many times her size, heedless of the difficult terrain. The soldier ants follow. Afterword The
The table wobbles under my husband’s calloused hand. ‘I was thinking,’ I say. He climbs under the table. ‘My mother should move into our spare room.’ ‘Yeah, yeah,’ he says absently, his fingers around the culprit leg. ‘I’ll tell Mother she can move in.’ He shoots upright, smashing his head on the table. Afterword The
