Leanne winced as she heard the voice outside her studio, loud enough that probably didn’t need the phone she was speaking into. Geraldine was coming to keep her company while she worked, again. What that actually meant was that Geraldine would harass her with questions and opinions from the moment she opened the door to …
Alex breathed in and centred himself, if Grandma could chop wood, a hale and healthy man in his twenties would have no problem. The axe felt strange in his hands, warm, heavy in a way that spoke more of possibility than actual heft. The wooden handle worn smooth from years of use, the steel head, …
Grandad was a hoarder. He picked up the oddest things at second-hand shops, and charity places, and car boot sales, always saying. “You never know when something like this will come in handy.” Everything was then taken down to the old shed at the back of the garden, where no one but Grandad ever went. …
I got a call from our local locksmith’s assistant, Jeremiah Singh, this morning. Before you ask, his father’s from India, I’m not sure which region, and his mother’s from a long-time local family. They met in town, in a pub, when someone insulted Mr Singh and the now Mrs Singh belted the insulter over the …
Sarah barged through the door, just in time for morning tea, although I don’t think that was intentional. “We have a problem.” “Oh?” You remember how, ages ago, Ben and I were here, and we made a treasure map of the garden?” “Yes. It was quite a good map, although I’m not sure the pond …
I’ve had reports over the past few days of a mysterious, antlered figure in the woods. Normally I’d not pay it much mind. We do have deer about the place. But all the reports say this figure walks on two legs, not four, and vanishes into the green as soon as it’s spotted. It’s a …
Delauney watched Melenique stalk towards the lift, designer suitcase trundling behind her. "Where did you reassign her to?" David looked up from his phone. "Anywhere there's a problem with performance, she's our roving troubleshooter." "I bet she's good at that." Her husband smirked. "Half the time all I need to do is mention her, and …
Maia swiped her access card, beep, green light, open door, phew. It hadn’t been a sure thing by any stretch, but they were in, and the real work could start. Janya slipped past her, a pat to the shoulder his only sign of approval. Approval for her months of grind to get into the company, …
Merrisa had loved the summer weekends when she was sent down to Grandma’s. In that pretty cottage on the edge of a postcard village, she felt more seen, more heard, than at any time in the showpiece London house her parents called home. Not that they were home much, hence the constant need for Merrisa …
He was easy enough to ignore on the train, sitting near enough to keep an eye on me, but not encroaching. If I'd had a good book, I daresay I could have blocked thought of him entirely. Unfortunately, all I had was the 'improving stories' Aunt Diddy had pressed into my hand that morning, and …
The DNA of Stories 