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Latest Stories

March 08, 2024
Flash Fiction Benoit

Some Enchanted Evening

It was a rugby tackle with tears: Chrissy burst in, sobbing and babbling, hugging James. Her face was all wet, eyes wild. What…? My parents split up, Dad has moved in with his boyfriend and I cannot join them. I am shut out. I have lost my dad. Torrent of…
March 08, 2024
Horror Stories Marvel Chukwudi Pephel

In The Hands Of My Legs

The car pulled up in front of the large salon. The neon sign, that sexy broad thing, on the salon'sroof read "Mr. Gil's All-night Salon". The exhaust pipe of the car was pumping solid smoke, theswirls moving from the car and towards the salon.…
March 07, 2024
Mystery Stories Vanessa Leigh Giles

Casualty of Love in the Time of Coronavirus

Chapter 1 Until Death do us Part ‘Ring, ring!’. I answered the telephone and asked, “Hello, good evening. Who’s this? “Hello.” This is Dr. Smith from Red Cross hospital. “Is this Mr. Locke, John?”, he asked, hesitantly scratching his bald head. “Yes, doctor.…
March 07, 2024
Crime Stories Robert Pook

Bar Room Trigger

Another return journey on footpaths so familiar. He strides across each crack in each paving stone. Regular loose drain covers sidestepped. Mapping long ago mapped in Richard’s desolate mind. His pace hastened by the sight of the oncoming storm. Quickening…
March 04, 2024
Horror Stories Ano Chinemerem

Sanctity

Where should I begin? I could begin by telling you about this comely boy, whom every notable person around the streets agrees his smile could charm the bills off one. Between one smile, there was his goodness, his dreams and humanity—a little far ahead?— but…
March 04, 2024
Flash Fiction Emanuel Diaz

Et Mortui Partium

As Rafael stepped out into the rain, it wasn't the ordinary drops that fell from the sky. Instead, it was a storm of souls, each one taking the form of shimmering jewelry as it cascaded toward the ground. Rubies, diamonds, and sapphires twinkled amidst the…
February 29, 2024
Poetry Jing Li Ava

London

‘Am I in London?’ "I am." Where is Elizabeth? Happy living story All of your chapter Bounlance joy Please my heart Power hand Wise mind Our baby Vow vow Love all love Miss I miss Endless wonder Bring us together Love all love Miss I miss For everything My…
February 29, 2024
Flash Fiction Rob Pook

Life Sentence of The Smith

Born nine months after his country won the World Cup.A child prodigy.Cast off at age twenty-four.Husband, father, emigree, away on the other side of the world.The blue-collar life.The dreams of success.The search for fulfillment.The long years of empty…
February 29, 2024
Mystery Stories Joshua Lowther

The Operator

Jason looked over to his right, his eyes barely able to focus themselves on the subject of his attention. His neck ached terribly from the strenuous movement. He was tired. The captain’s gaze came to rest on the rookie sonar operator sitting tense at his…
February 29, 2024
Flash Fiction Salvatore Difalco

The Chute

At dusk, we left our unit with a soft pink bundle. I carried it through the wet streets and into the black woods. I said I’d take it all the way, the bundle, but that we had to drop it in together. My wife’s green eyes flashed. “Don’t make me do that.” I…
February 29, 2024
Fantasy Stories Marvel Chukwudi Pephel

Tragopolis

In the heart of a vast and mysterious forest lay a city like no other – Tragopolis. It was a fablesque city hidden from the prying eyes of the outside world. It was a place where secrets bloomed as bountifully as the surrounding flora. It was a city where…
February 15, 2024
Science Fiction Stories Jasnoor

Ethan Sheldon's Death

<< Ethan Sheldon’s [Deceased] Brain Autopsy >> Damn, this one's going to be a long one—an all-nighter mopping the floors in this creepy ass place. There is no music or sound except the splashing noise of cleaning fluid. I'm in a hallway; there's nothing to…

The council is building a community Child Day Care Center right next to our house. On that very ground, once, lived a bald and stout pensioner. Mr. Muleya was our strangely opinionated neighbor. He had this disturbing fascination with the nobility of solitude, and he went all out to prove his philosophy, for he was a practical man. Indeed, he kept much to himself and did a very good job, while at it. I think he was one of those people not exactly cut for any kind of society whatsoever, for he would invariably find something disagreeable with every member of the human species. One would be found too forward, another too loud, too intrusive, too provincial, or just too something. Apparently human society was pathetically inadequate, his standard soured above everything and everyone.

In his mundane obsession with the dignity of isolation, he had put up a poster warning ‘people of dogs’, although he never owned any. At least as far as I knew him, and we had been neighbors for 12 years. He hated our dogs so much, they ultimately became his favorite objects of resentment. In the resultant conflict, he had almost poisoned all the dogs before we intervened and decided that the dogs should never be allowed anywhere on his property. But he had logical reasons for his actions. These abominable creatures had a poor understanding of boundaries, they urinated in his garden, consistently defecated on his lawn and dug holes along the durawall. Grievances against these canine malefactors were inexhaustible.

And, wait I will tell you, without delay, of one incident which hopefully will put his behavior and everything else into perspective. They were building a very high wall which would separate us(ending permanently the problem of the venomous dogs, the prying eyes of neighbors and neighbors’ kids who often conveniently strayed into his orchard). The project would complete the grand enclosure, a spectacular sight if you ask me, it imposingly stood out like a castle. It was very much metaphorically illustrative of his resolute, inner desire to stay aloof.

To complete the assemblage, a razor wire was to be fixed at the top end to discourage trespassers. Along with an electric wire to encourage good behavior and a rapid response notice in order to emphasize the wisdom in compliance.

On this particular day, the boys were playing outside. School was out and their cousins had come for holiday, so ecstasy is the appropriate word for the general mood in the boys department. I was also happy, at least I would be allowed to enjoy some peace while the dopamine-charged boys occupied themselves with whatever little men around 6-8 love to do. It is in this perfectly harmonious state of affairs that our neighbor’s voice is heard, carrying with it an offensively intense aspect. It beams so loud, unashamedly shattering the beautiful serene atmosphere. Believe me, the man had a terrible excuse of a voice. I secretly thought of it as a squeak, for nothing in this world could make such a painful sound but pigs, and himself of course. His voice aside, his temperament did not help matters. So, I recognized the call, something was terribly out of order. I scrambled uneasily across the yard, to where everyone else had already gathered in response to the crisis alert. I immediately noticed that the little boys wore curiously strange expressions, undecidedly resonating between mournful regret and pure advanced fear.

We were soon to learn that, while the boys were playing, their ball had accidentally fallen into Mr. Muleya’s yard. Obviously oblivious of the consequences, the boys had innocently crossed over to retrieve their object of play. In the process, they left their tiny footprints in the concrete casting of the durawall pillars, yet to be erected. So, before us lay a concrete evidence of the boys’ malfeasance, the prints constituted the reason for Mr. Muleya’s amazing fit of rage. In the heat of the moment, I moved closer to assess the damage. The prints were very small, yet a bit too deep to ignore. If he were to ignore these tiny impressions, they would effectively transform the image of this formidable and almost intimidating castle into something like a Child Day Care Center. It was hilarious, I almost laughed before I quickly checked myself, again becoming aware of the impending crisis. So, clearly apart from nosy people, not so nosy, people, dogs and neighbors, Mr. Muleya was highly allergic to little people.

Then came the fateful day. Circumstances surrounding this eventful day made me consider. Murphy’s philosophy. The one in which he states that if something may and can go wrong, it will. I was as usual at my favorite spot in the living room, concentrating on finishing the last chapter to my essay on the paradoxes of human existence. I was so engrossed that I could not have felt, smelled or heard anything without interrupting the stream of thought. I did not like that, or even the idea of the possibility.

We were only alerted by passersby who either saw or smelt it. At first the smoke was not very noticeable, then followed the unmistakable pleas of distress. Flames emerged with starting immediacy, as if provoked by the disquieting squeaks of the helpless man. He was fighting a losing struggle. We tried to save the man, to no avail, for the house was specially designed to keep out people. Well, not entirely, for there was the intercom. He died at the door, scratching furiously at the automatic door now locked forever. Later, when the police came, they had to tear down the doors to take out the man’s blackened form. He was perfectly cremated. I almost felt sorry for him, he was our neighbor, our sophisticated neighbor.

Bio: I am a new writer who is interested in crime and mystery stories. I also enjoy writing book reviews. I have written book reviews for OnlineBookClub. You can check reviews by chiefsimplex. 

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