Short Stories
Blessings from Above
Amina closed the bare kitchen cupboards with a heavy heart. Their contents were everyday items like jars, plates, cups and other kitchen necessities. Everything except the most essential item. Food. She had not a can of baked beans, a slice of bread or a...
The Spirit of Jolly
Jolly, whose given name was Julius Timour, laughed as his brother twisted and pulled and bent the bright pink balloon into the shape of a flamingo. The six-year-old jumped up and down in unadulterated delight at the amazing balloon animal Flynn had created for him....
Someone Special (A Christmas Tale)
“Thanks, man. I’ll definitely include a tip,” the passenger promised as he stepped out of the car and set off for the shopping mall. He was soon lost in the mad swirl of other late-night shoppers. Khalid merely nodded and smiled, knowing that more than half of his...
Noise Pollution
A loud shower of rain disturbs Ameer’s concentration, causing his finger to twitch. The carefully balanced screw Ameer is about to insert in the rear wheel of the model Lamborghini he’s constructing slips from the tweezers, rolls around a few times before falling over...
Faster
Rochelle had scheduled a quiz for her Grade 9 students for Period 3 on Monday morning. She knew the girls would rant and rile about it, as most of them attended school simply because they were forced to. “I tell you, I don’t even know why I bother,” Rochelle had...
The Better Man
“I regret nothing. Warren deserved the thrashing I gave him,” I tell Carmen. I’m bristling with righteous fury. “Oh, so losing your job was worth the fight?” Carmen asks, staring me down. She knows me too well, but I won’t allow her to gloat. “Hey, I was tired of...
The Traveller (A 500-word short story)
Nick reached the peak of the mountain he had been sauntering up for most of the day just as the sun dipped below the horizon. The glorious hue of reddish-rose struck through with lighter tones of streaking yellow snatched his breath away. “Beautiful!” Nick exclaimed,...
The Quality of Gratitude
Joanne considered her options for supper: chicken soup with garlic bread, beef vegetable casserole with fluffy white rice, or some crumbed chicken fillet filled with pepper sauce? The thirty-two-year old college lecturer rolled her eyes heavenward as she struggled to...
Warrior Princess
Zarina’s green eyes blazed in fury. No, it was righteous wrath. “You dared break a sacred promise, one you swore to uphold upon penalty of death, Hamed? How could you sell your vow for a mere handful of dirhams?” she demanded to know. Hamed held himself very still,...
The Fiend
“When was the first time you became aware of what you claim is a ‘presence’?” I asked Tania. Her drawn face was framed by a black bob haircut, incidentally making her appear younger than her forty-two years. Although she had had two children already – a boy of seven...