An Open Letter. To you who would practice “creative writing,” know that you have NO RIGHT. I have finally discovered Truth. No, not Truth—I have already known it. I have discovered how you convince yourselves that it is not. And it sickens me. There is no Truth in your words. You use them only as … More An Open Letter (Short Story)
An order of tea usually didn’t come with an empty container, so I wasn’t sure why mine did. I tried to ask the waitress, but her back was already turned. The little box was barely the size of a biscuit. Perhaps that was what was supposed to come with it. I picked it up and … More Drink
Don’t much remember the warm these days. Warm went way-away, with the birds, the cars, and the man who sold papers on the corner. Used to buy papers. Now I sleep in ‘em. Mags sleeps in ‘em too. She’s a good girl. Went looking for food again today. Walked the big road, ash-snow falling down. … More The Winter Queen
The thing about bridges was they had an over and an under. What people tended to forget was there was also an in between. But the go-overs never looked down, and the go-unders never looked up. Worked just fine for me. Meant it usually took them longer to find the bodies. Crows knew about the … More Bridges
It’s no picnic being a creature of pure celestial intent. I followed Phil, my charge, into the living room and stood on the cat’s tail. The animal jumped and yowled. I flailed and my wing bumped a vase, knocking it over. More flailing and I bumped a lamp too. “Bollocks.” Phil lunged and steadied the … More The Truth About Poltergeists
I’ve never turned down a job. Professional integrity, and all that. But even so, when I saw the name in the file, I cringed. At some point in every man’s career, he gets that job he knows is going to make or break his name. I’d been using this name for a while now, and … More Integrity
They said you could order anything online. My neighbour asked for a dog off MyGenie.com. The next day a labrador waited outside. My parents wanted a place to retire. The keys arrived the following morning. My friend asked for a car, and a shiny VolksWagen appeared in her drive. The site was what it claimed … More Wishes
When Doctor Frank saw the flyer on the back of the men’s locker room door he felt a sudden rush of excitement. He loved competitions, and this just happened to be something he excelled in. It would be foolish not to enter. Hurrying home, Doctor Frank went straight to his lab and pulled on his … More Body Building
David liked driving forklifts. He was the best forklift driver Constructech had. He never missed a pallet, and things alway got where they needed to go, in one piece. Working on the new SuperEnergy plant had been a particular treat for him. So many important and delicate pieces of equipment needed to be brought in, … More Awakeness
The challenge: Write a flash fiction piece, under 100 words, with the theme “Glass jars”. He aligned the glass jars, checking the contents of each was still fresh. It would not do to make his favourite pie with ingredients that were anything but. As he opened one of the jars, the object inside squelched and … More Glass Jars
C. A. Harland 