Posts with the tag “fiction”

“You’ve hardly touched your soup.” Addie’s mom reached out a hand, placing the back of it against Addie’s forehead. “Are you feeling okay?”“I’m just…” Addie searched for an excuse. “Excited for Christmas.”Her father placed a hand on her shoulder. “Just don’t get too excited, sweetie. Like I said, I don’t think Santa’s going to be able to get here tonight.”“I know.” She swirled her tepid soup with ...  Read More

Rita sat across the worn dining table in her family’s cramped apartment. Her arms were folded and her eyebrows furrowed as she glared across the table at Addie. “What are you so happy about?”Addie reached up and touched her cheeks, which were raised in a broad smile. “I’m going to get my due for being bad: coal from Santa.”“You want to get in trouble?” Rita scratched the back of her neck. “Really?...  Read More

Addie slumped in the chair, her face scrunched up and her lower lip stuck out. Getting on Santa’s naughty list had sounded easy when she’d been huddled under her covers last night, but it wasn’t going well so far. She approached the grumpiest man in their building, and somehow inspired him to leave his favored spot of the past decade.She needed to find someone else who deserved being mean to, sinc...  Read More

Adelaide Tirion had been good all year. And all the good girls and boys got a present from Santa. So, it was a surprise on December 23rd when her father got home from the factory just before her bedtime and sat her down.“Addie, I don’t think Santa’s going to be stopping at our house this year,” he father said, scratching at his elbow. His watery eyes glanced around her small bedroom.She followed h...  Read More

As Lucy stepped around Xav’s toys and carried the old cardboard box into the dining room, she did not know that this would be the last year she would light the candles...  Read More

"Have you seen the box with the Christmas decorations?"  Read More

Lucy ducked her head against the cold wind as she trudged across campus to her dorm...  Read More

"Weef! Weef!" three-year-old Lucy shouted with joy. "Okay, just a moment," her mother carefully stepped around the excited child...  Read More

Over the next two days, Magnus slowly got back to work. Christmas was on Saturday and several orders needed to be finished. He worked in a daze, mindlessly completing memories, not noticing the movement of his hands.Alvis stopped by at one point, ostensibly to invite Magnus to his Christmas Eve party, but Magnus knew he’d heard about the argument with Val. Magnus gave a few noncommittal responses ...  Read More

Magnus finally caught up to Val outside of Mr. Dakken’s place. The two were talking in the front step when Magnus arrived, breathing heavily through clenched teeth. “What do you think you’re doing?” He snatched the memory from Mr. Dakken’s hand. “What’s going on with this?”Val stood there, too stunned to speak.Mr. Dakken cleared his throat. “Now, Magnus, I quite like-”Magnus held up his hand, sile...  Read More

Magnus ran his hand over the sling again. His fingers bounced against the pebbled outside of the cast. He cautiously flexed his muscles. Though his wrist did not move, a string of ache wound its way up from deep within and along the inside of his arm.He scowled at the injury. He should be working. Instead, his stupid wrist was holding him back. He cursed his luck again and imagined what he could b...  Read More

Magnus Stonhart shuffled through the chill, dark night while the knapsack slung over his shoulder glowed and thrummed and emanated sweet smells of all varieties. He preferred to work at night, when the world stilled and the crowds dispersed. Alone, he roamed the empty streets to gather sensations wherever he could. On summer nights it was pleasant, but the warmth of summer had waned. Christmas was...  Read More

The flashing lights of the emergency vehicles lit the square. Even at two in the morning, a small crowd had gathered. They stood together, huddled against the cold and dark, and whispered conjectures. They knew whose tractor it was.The large metal soldier, which had stood prominent in the daylight, lay disfigured on the icy concrete. The carefully cast face flattened to an indistinguishable lump. ...  Read More

The hinges on the wooden door groaned. The morning light shone into the sanctuary from the eastern stained glass windows, casting spots of color which shimmered across the pews and aisles.The church stood quiet. Empty. He sighed softly under his breath.He crept forward, his boots echoing and leaving clumps of slushy snow on the flagstone floor. Every instinct told him to keep the silence here. He ...  Read More

Joe walked up to the snow plastered red door. The snow fell more heavily and the wind blew more strongly every minute. He took a deep breath to steady himself.Normally, he’d turn to Miriam for support. But he couldn’t look at her right now. His chest was tight and his lip hurt from biting it so much. He blamed himself for their predicament. He hoped that his old friend would be willing to talk to ...  Read More

The snow swirled around the black Equinox. Out of the chaos of the frozen flakes, the centerline of the highway flickered past. Joe Carver leaned forward, staring into the maelstrom. A green sign loomed out of the darkness. Branchwatch – 5 miles.  Read More