The defendant stood when he was called, a tall, handsome figure in the mold of Jimmy Stewart. He blinked a little and ambled to the stand, his back erect, but not proud—assured. There were some growths of hair upon his chin and upper lip, as if he had forgotten to…
After a day and a night, the wind died down and the whirling white of snow settled onto the frozen ground. Stephan stopped dead in his tracks, caught completely off-guard by the sudden change. The strange calm dislodged even that from his head. The black sky was deep, like the…
The bell in the crumbling tower struck two, and the sanctuary resounded with the tremor of its solemn cry. It broke through the fervency of Elizabeth’s prayers, and for the barest moment she recalled the dim, damp stone room, full of half-ruined structures and soaring bats. It had once been…
Daniel and Ellen Parson sat on a bench outside the library. They had come to drop off a book their youngest son had borrowed, and it being the first day with all their kids at camp, they had decided to make it an outing and walk the mile from their…
Turquoise water, white sand, cloudless sky. A perfect day. The shout goes out—“Beach volleyball! Starting a game of beach volleyball! Come on, you two, and you also!” Soon, teams are formed. A young couple, the man sun-burnt, the woman with an unusually long neck, decline the invitation. They lie side…
Sometimes, he recalled it during the day and mistook it for a misplaced memory. In it, he was at a city park. The grass shone with life. The blue ocean of the sky hung overhead. The sun suffused every detail. His daughter, Hope, lay on her stomach in the grass…
The conductor was repeating some last minute reminders, but Stanley didn’t hear a word. He was distracted, preparing himself mentally for his next performance. He had always participated in band in high school and he was the first to defend the importance of art in an argument. Plus, this was…
The wall screens blazed with blinding speed as Pat “The Jack” O’Brien and Merlcon the Merciless vied for first place in the Trans-Galactic Scramble. The patrons of Heddie’s Sports Bar shouted over one another as the Jack edged ahead. Annie Worlitzer sat alone in a corner, watching the commotion and…
The bright jingle of bells signaled the day’s first customer. He was a large man, both tall and hefty, with a belly like a basketball that stretched taut his torn T-shirt. Over the T-shirt he wore a leather vest. I could not read his expression beneath the wild beard and…
The three men stopped at the edge of the deep sea trench. Even with their modified bodies, the pressure at this depth affected them. “I will continue alone,” declared Expert Nielhaus. He eyed his companions distrustfully. “Do you understand?” “Yes, expert,” replied Sub-expert Xion. “Overseer?” Nielhaus prodded. “The Mother will…
William paced slowly along the row of graves, reading the names inscribed in the cold headstones. The cool breeze of early spring that stirred the still dead grass slipped through his threadbare coat and made him shiver. At the end of the row, he sighed, looked up at the pale…
The peals of trumpets announced the victor’s entrance into the city. Princess Anna heard them from her room and hurried to her balcony. She could see the gold and white banner of Galandrin, known everywhere in the land as the White Knight. “He has defeated Mowran,” she whispered, her gaze…