The Crush

by hidayat | May 19, 2022 | Short Stories

Danté fell instantly for Joshua the minute he walked into the seminar venue. His fair skin only accentuated the mole perched slightly above the left corner of his kiss-me-please pink upper lip. Danté’s knees turned to wobbly jelly when Joshua smiled at the group; it...

The Apple Tree

by hidayat | May 6, 2022 | Short Stories

I am careful to sneak very discreetly into the apple orchard. Although I had been visiting the gardens for about six years now, since I was eleven years old and had run away from my abusive stepmom and her endless stream of lovers, many of whom thought I came with the...

Mira

by hidayat | Apr 18, 2022 | Short Stories

The wind was a beast determined to invade the small house Dan had constructed about eight years ago on the shores of a remote mountain lake. Finding the spot with all the materials he would need readily available within nature was pure serendipity. It was also exactly...

The Invasion

by hidayat | Mar 26, 2022 | Short Stories

The Red Army was rapidly gaining ground. Although the soldiers of the Black Army were throwing themselves in battle-crazed, mindless charges against them, the Red Army soldiers were inexorably nearing their goal: to replenish their rapidly dwindling slave numbers. It...

Pernicious

by hidayat | Mar 24, 2022 | Short Stories

Forty-two-year-old Brenda revelled in the delight of vilifying neighbours and spreading scandalous rumours. Her latest target was the oh-so-fresh-faced intern, Mary-Ann. “What a pretentious name,” Brenda thought uncharitably when Marcus, the Overseas Department...

The Girl

by hidayat | Mar 24, 2022 | Short Stories

The return to consciousness plunges Adrian into an acid vat of pain. He screams like a wild beast, the shout echoing eerily down the ravine. “Dear God,” he whimpers as he catches sight of his broken left wrist. “I need to get help,” he whispers, carefully clambering...