The day Jordan and I were born, there were mass celebrations at home. Mum was blessed to have given birth to a pair of twins with eyes that were fiery blue and hair that looked like golden crowns, they said. Every time Jordan and I were complimented, she laughed in that sonorous way of hers that made us both very ...

Radio DJ Matt: A very good evening to you our listeners. We are glad that you can join us on our weekly program, ItMatters, where we discuss current affairs, and the economic, social and political landscape of today. Our guests today include Dr. Costa, a geneticist, and Dr. Mulberg, a philanthropist, and I’d like to warmly welcome you both to ...

Claire: The blame for this particular screw up is on you, Doug. I’ve told you time and time again… Doug: …that I shouldn’t drive so fast. Well, it was you who got late to, let’s see, take a shower, paint your nails, wear your pantyhose, and… Claire: Doug Perkins! Don’t you dare lay this on me, you careless turd! Doug: ...

At times I wonder whether we concoct the ideas of vampires, zombies, and ghouls just to comfort ourselves that there’s something worse out there. But what can be worse than the daily horrors that we face. This life we lead is the real non-fiction horror story that just won’t become a bestseller. We live for just 60 years on this ...

A butterfly. Fluttering in her stomach. That was the only way she could describe the little waves of nausea that crept up towards her mouth. In the silence of the night, she could count the icy trails of sweat on her skin. Her breath came out in slow silent puffs as she dialed 911; her sphincter near her anus instinctively ...

Bad luck. That’s what the doctor said. In cases such as these: it’s imperative to bring in the patient at the precise moment those symptoms bubble up to the surface. This is life; these things happen. Now only the best care will do to ensure that Grandma lives out her days with dignity. He burst into tears in front of ...

The tortured always finds the tortured. Somehow. Someway. These three sentences wagged their way through Juniper's head as she raised her head, wrinkled her nostrils, and whined. She smelled it desperation, hopelessness, agony, hurt, and the need for help and just couldn't do anything about it. First, it was the beads of sweat she got as the breeze brought the ...

Alain watched the sun become smaller and diminish. Just an evanescent orange bubble, he thought. That was the poet in him always trying to make normal things in life romantic. And depressing. Depression. Ah, that's something he knew well. His brain had its own way, and directed him towards that unpleasant business, which took place a few weeks ago. The ...

We all are, she said, a wee bit different. The twinkle in his mother’s eyes told him not to take what she was about to say too seriously. So he prepared himself; what he saw within the next few minutes became structured in his mind like a numbered list. 1. She stood up, and lifted her skirt, smiling as she ...

Your nose looks curved here, she said, pointing to a sepia-toned Polaroid. Despite a hesitant blinking of his eyes, he went about typing emails with a smile. She offered him a smile back and hugged him. This happened way back in September, and now she’s dead. Before she died she noticed how he changed throughout the years. His summer kisses ...

A slow kiss; that’s how she said her good bye to Fernando as he gave up on life with just a wisp of air lingering on his cold lips. Now she could look forward to welcoming 2008 with grief. Sadness is a must because it promises healing, she thought. She secretly never cared much for his art where he magically ...

Haven’t seen you in some time, eh? Matt just nods, and starts trembling. He looks pale tonight, but that’s probably the beer playing dominos with my retinas. Say something, Matt. He just shivers and whispers — Cold. I’m just so cold, Ian. I try to put my arm around him, but he moves away. Geez bro, relax, no homo. He ...

The sweat bubbled up slowly until his forehead was neatly aligned with globules of wetness. He muttered in his sleep, and lapsed into silence. Without any warning, he opened his mouth and let out an enthusiastic roar of screams. That’s when his parents came running into the room and having pulled at the switch, flooded it with light that seared ...

I do love you, and I promise you that there’s no one else, he said as he gifted her one of his winning smiles, all polished and ready to charm women off their feet. With sunlight glinting off her hair, she was thrilled with this admission as she smiled back genuinely. As she happily tucked into the warm pancakes drizzled ...

Chen stared at his reflection and gently dabbed his cheeks with rouge. He colored his lips a bright crimson, and inexpertly used eyeliner to finish his bedtime ritual. He tuned out the sniggers and whispered insults that he heard, and walked to his bunk. Roy thrice asked Chen why he dresses like a queer before he goes to bed at ...

Do you see what you’ve done, Claire? This is not me. It’s not me. It’s something else you’ve brought from the other side. It’s evil and selfish. Dolls can’t cry, Claire; but I want to.

The day before the rapture took place, Kaplan’s nose started to bleed. The blood formed a rill down towards his chin. He smeared a streak of blood between his fingers and prepared himself by sitting down quickly and closing his eyes. The tremors started from his feet and moved up fast towards his head; it becomes so ferocious that his ...

Adam was agitated. Adam was flirting with the idea of taking a wee step over the edge and falling into the tawdry embrace of madness. He didn’t. For the moment. Instead he switched on all the lights of his house and listened. He waited. He listened. Intently. As sunrise approached, and his shadow crept up onto the wall, he felt ...

Every house has a story to tell, I suppose: the archaic porcelain that has been molded by ancient hands, which are imprinted with flowery motifs; the out-of-tune grand piano that surely entertained the rich glitterati of that time; the stained satin bedspreads that have witnessed a string of infidelities; a lustful garden teeming with verdant promises long forgotten; and who ...

Dear Reader. I suppose this is an admission. An admission of guilt to be more specific. I am guilty of murder. A justifiable murder. Allow me to take you on a journey that culminated in the spilling of blood and guts. See. A period at the end of a sentence will denote a sense of finality. But it also allows ...