Reenactment The history books said that it must take place on the twenty-second of January. Lying in bed, dressed in a plain white gown, head covered by a lace veil decorated with myrtle leaves, Alex Osborne wondered if people would be angry. At the head of the bed, Malcolm had hung a circular black and […]
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Barcelona During the night I play dead for 6 hours or so, my last rites sung out by drunken voices on the Rambla. There is a wine spot in my dreams, which always seem to take place at the end of my second cousin’s quinceañera. You’re always there – of course you are – your
One Step at a time Early morning, the dawn weaker than milky tea. At the bedroom window, mug in hand, Dulcie watches the cars and buses creep—slow and stop, then creep—slow and stop, brake lights reflected red in the puddles. Soon, the season will slip; summer bending to autumn’s sway. Ice will blossom on the
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Dead Man talking Old Szymon Parker died while flower petals whirled themselves into soft gray pools of rain. I called him Creaky. He only left his apartment Sunday mornings to drink coffee and smoke on the patio at the diner on 2nd Avenue. In the winters, when he couldn’t smoke indoors, he’d take his coffee
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Surface 1. The Blue-ringed Octopus lives in colourful coral reefs. It relies on the rocks and crevices in its environment for refuge. A customer wants to speak to the manager, but I’m trying to write my essay on cephalopods and their dedication to procreation behind the counter. A girl in a turquoise-striped jumper
Dances He had always known the line of his life: to be as other men of his like and station. How that was to be achieved was far less important than the fact that it was achieved; that he had maintained what needed to be maintained until early middle age was to him a source
Palermo Reading time: about 25 minutes The summer months are coming to an end and the town is emptying. Students go inland to the city; tourists return home; the doors of the many second homes are locked. In the calm harbour, the ferry has docked and buoys pock the surface of the water, bobbing lightly.
The hole Thing a monologue CHARACTER: The speaker can be any gender, age and ethnicity. Their attitude should be energetic but awkward. Dressed in warm, worn clothes. SETTING: In the middle of the stage sits a garden shed. Door. Window. Camping stove in one corner and kitchen just big enough for a kettle and
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accidents Sunday evening finds us in the kitchen. You’re washing up, I’m rolling flatbreads out with tension like a mortise in my gut. We’ve heard the news: a relative of yours, a garden afternoon, a sudden slip, and somehow, that was it. My hands still grip the rolling pin, yours soak in a
The mating ritual of the 3d printer Bailey woke, her heart strobing in her chest. There were muffled sounds from the door opposite her. A muted wail came in through the open window. It sounded like a baby crying, but Bailey knew it couldn’t be. She hadn’t heard that sound for months. You
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