Patches of snow flecked the dirt road in rural France as a squad of German soldiers rode by on motorcycles. A land mine exploded, destroying the first motorcycle, and killing the rider. The other motorcycles crashed. Their riders tried to shoot at unseen enemies. French resistance fighters quickly mowed them down with submachine gun fire. The resistance fi...
"Not a soul was visible on the hedgeless highway, or on either side of it, and the white road seemed to ascend and diminish till it joined the sky." [from Thomas Hardy "Jude the Obscure", Book 1, opening chapter 3] The white cement dust rose in clouds behind the classic MG as Lizzy headed homewards. This was her first visit in three years and she wasn't loo...
Keeping away from nutcases is always a good idea. My problem is that I'm basically a magnet for them. Seriously, on the bus, the train and at work, at the school library and everywhere I go. They're there, passive-aggressively sneezing, coughing, staring, spitting and hatefully staring in my general direction. Can someone save me from them? The name is Samue...
It was a sultry July afternoon, with the thermometer in the 90s and the humidity chasing it. The sky was blue over the multiplex parking lot, and the teenagers ran through the heat to get to the theater entryway and temperature rationality again. Shelley walked behind them quickly, wearing her mirror sunglasses, yellow halter top, short blue skirt and sandal...
Spring was trying to arrive. The grass was becoming greener, buds were coming to life on the trees, and there was a twinge of new life in the air. Suzanne rounded the curves on the old road like a pro; she'd been driving them for eleven years. She was able to take in the scenery since her hands on the wheel were on auto-pilot. When the cluster of trees came...
It was one of those things you say in the heat of the moment that, if you're lucky, you get chance to regret. She looked at me with what I'd normally call bedroom eyes, sultry and dark with black lining and thick lashes. Realistically she was the type of woman you took home for one night and spent the rest of your life dreaming about; not the type you took h...
"You lost the bet," he reminded her. Still, she felt oddly numb. She just knew she was going to beat him; he had never been much of a pool player. Big surprises come in small packages, and when you least expect them, he had once told her. He had said that months ago when they first met, and had repeated himself earlier today, just before the games began. But...
Quiet. Nothing. The Beauty and the Ease and the Dreadful Boredom of Nothing. Wasn't there something? From dark to light, eyes wide open face the sky. The thought she tried to bring to clarity was absent now. Just as the sky was clear except for the dazzling sun so was her mind. There was an echo of a sensation that couldn't quite be grasped but its quali...
"What you really need is a gigolo." Damini said to her friend Shweta. They were discussing Shweta's marital problems. Her husband Mayur was totally focused on his career. As a result their sex life was almost non-existent and Shweta was getting more and more upset. She had already rejected the advice of having an affair as she was devoted to her family. "Ar...
Susan remained in the center of the canoe. Her face carried a satisfied, blissful expression. She trailed one hand in the water and said softly, "I'm not ready to go back to camp yet." "Here, put the back pack behind you to lean on. We're in no hurry and I can get us back eventually," said Tiffany. She smiled and thrust her paddle deeply then executed a per...