The minute hand on the old grandfather clock moved sluggishly to rest on the 12 and the deep melancholy voice called out, announcing the arrival of midnight. There was a knock on the door. The man in the faded blue armchair, who’d been intently watching the time, slowly stood up.…

The floors were impossibly white. Whiter than anything Garrett had seen in his lifetime, except maybe the blistering sun on a July afternoon. The overhead lights reflected on the smooth tiles, casting miniature pools of delicate light under his scuffed brown boots. Clouds of dust drifted from his feet with…

“And nothing can we call our own but deathAnd that small model of the barren earthWhich serves as paste and cover to our bones.For God’s sake, let us sit upon the groundAnd tell sad stories of the death of kings.”– William Shakespeare​​ The metallic tearing of the breakfast tin didn’t…

Erin swung her feet over the water, kicking to the percussion of waves breaking against the docks. Her legs sawed the chilled nothingness as she watched dark crests dash themselves against the wood only to disperse into foam and bubbles. A lamppost illuminated her, casting a blurry corona of golden…

I was falling out of sync, I just didn’t realize how badly. The accident was a wakeup call.  I stopped at a light just as it was turning red. A blink of an eye and I had horns blaring at me from every direction. A car winged past me, swerving…

Camp Isabelle, Vietnam Huong Lan was the Lieutenant’s one indulgence. Her name meant Fragrant Orchid, or Fragrance of the Orchid, he could never remember which. The chicken-clucking Vietnamese tongue was more than he could handle, despite valiant efforts to teach him basic vocabulary and grammar. Still, she both cooked and…

On a foul night in fickle early autumn, when the wind sobbed and wailed like a lost wandering wraith, Constance awoke from a garish dream, aghast to hear her garden crashing into the sea. It clattered down the cliff thud by thud into darkness, sodden by the pelting rain and…

I’ve read stories about characters falling through time, but I’ve never known if anyone had actually experienced it before, at least not until it happened to me. You may, of course, choose to disbelieve me and even conclude I was hallucinating. Heck, I’m aware of the difficulties one faces just…

Tarquinii, Etruria: Circa 300 BCE The body of Lord Pulenus was barely cold when Vel, the ashen-haired tomb painter, arrived at the family home to discuss funeral arrangements. The widow had summoned him the instant her husband expired. A servant answered the door, and Vel was gobsmacked as the male…