Month: August 2021

The day of parting had dawned. The house, its gardens and swimming pool that made the holiday home so special, would again be quiet, only the housekeeper and husband to be encountered, better still their son, Manolo, who was on army leave. How disconcerting to have that vigorous young man capture her attention as she gazed at him and delighted […]

Ineke always loved it here; to stay in the green painted, clap-boarded house with its mellow, orange-red, pantile roof and white framed, and shuttered, casement windows. It was the place where her aunt and uncle, Anna and Frank Meijers had made their home. The Zaan River was not so far away, and the countryside all around them with its tree-lined […]

The heat of the day had taken its toll. I was feeling tired and impatient to get away. Hopefully, I would get home before the rain came again, so I could get my feet up and have some well-earned rest and relaxation, as I had been so busy at work. If truth be told, I felt as though I had […]

Alex. Aged 18 years and two weeks to the day. The kind of girl who doesn’t walk into a room, so much as float into it. She wears shirts, skirts, and dresses that hug her slim body, that make it look like she isn’t wearing any underthings. Which, typically, she isn’t.

I entered the room, and it had been set up as requested. The lights were dim, and kneeling on the sofa, facing away from me, was our 19-year-old prospective au pair girl, Angela. Her blonde hair had a blue ribbon, and she was wearing a very short blue dress, with ruffles around the top and bottom. The bottom of the […]

I wondered what this meeting was going to be about. I was actually slightly nervous, walking into the familiar back office conference room. This was a place I had been many times before. I was also curious. There had been some gossip about changes at B&B, but no one knew what exactly. I glanced in at Mr Bellows office as […]

It took only a few minutes for me to get settled on the recliner after working a full shift at the office. I stretch out my arm with the remote and start to flip through the channels. Then I heard the all too familiar, “James is that you? Can you take out the garbage under the sink it’s overflowing? I […]

Jem sat with his back propped against the dry-stone wall as he allowed the sun to warm his rugged, weather-beaten face. Looking out over the landscape he watched his flock of sheep wander from one grazing spot to another as Jess his border collie sniffed along the wall before returning to lay by his side. His real name was James, […]

Five years ago, I had bought a lottery ticket, as I did every week. I won fourteen million dollars after taxes. Lots of lottery winners buy yachts, mansions, or expensive cars. I thought most of them were stupid. You can have a good life and lots of fun without wasting money. I put twelve million in safe investments and the […]

Anya stood outside the Heavenly Temple restaurant, looking up at the façade. It was a strange building to be sure, a mosaic of colourful swirls that must’ve taken ages to assemble, so very unlike the monochrome blocks the rest of the street was filled with. But apparently, that was the shen tian for ya. The strange aliens had only introduced […]