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(214 views) Frank Hibro was thirty five and walked his dog for miles every day. Frank's
dog was a medium sized, mixed breed he'd rescued from the animal shelter.
The dog's name was Bowzer, because the dog reminded Fred of a commercial
he'd watched as a child.
Franked liked to drive to a new area each day, and perform what he called
"Walks of discovery." And so it was, that Frank and Bowzer were in
the pedestrian tunnel that morning.
Frank noticed the large signs as he entered the tunnel. "Walk Bicycles."
. . . |
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(213 views) Dqaw was one one of the youngest members of the Bell clan. His
arrival late that day for the afternoon rest strangely offended
one of the oldest elders.
"Bong, bing, ding ding, ding," bellowed the oldster who let go of the
sky and floated down to Dqaw. "Ding ding ding!"
Dqaw, being among the youngest, had not learned to be civil to his
elders yet. So he floated right up to the height of that eldest.
"Bong," he said in a firm but young supercilious tone. "Bling, bong bong."
The eldest quivered . . . |
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(213 views) Michael Spinnley disliked his name. He preferred to be called Mike.
Most of his friends called him Mike, but his parents insisted on
calling him Michael. Mike was only twelve, so that was a huge problem.
One blazingly hot Saturday, Mike bought a plastic bottle at a flea
market for a quarter. He thought it might go well with his pirate
costume, the one he was assembling for a party that fall.
Mike pulled open the top and it slid smoothly. The inside appeared
to be covered with soap, so he blew . . . |
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(213 views) Little Billy Moonsky crawled around the locked gate through
a gap so small an adult could never follow. He slid over the edge
to a gap below the ice floor. There he hid from his mean brother.
Under the floor the darkness seemed to suck all the warmth from Billy's
bones. His eyes gradually adjusted to the dimness under there. Slowly
hoses began to appear. White frosty hoses, like snakes frozen in time
and cold.
Above him, Billy heard the bass booming of the music. Christmas music,
he was sure, . . . |
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(213 views) Mike Helix awoke to the the sound of surf and a breeze
blowing through the palms. The smell of the sea surrounded him.
As he awoke, the house sensed his movement and faded out
the beach. Photo portraits appeared, tastefully placed around
the bedroom walls. Mike's
closet opened, and his freshly cleaned and pressed clothing
was made available.
Mike, at a young 50, sat up and rotated his feet off the
bed. He stretched and scratched his head and looked at
the photos on the wall.
The photos showed . . . |
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(213 views) Jack Hill lived at the foot of Bernal Hill in San Francisco. He and his wife
Jill threw an informal barbecue every first Sunday of every month except
December. It was their way to give back to all their fine neighbors.
Jack laid out a dozen ears of corn on the grill for the few guests
he expected. Jack was getting sick of corn, but the neighbors
liked it, so he continued to cook it.
The last few days had been bitter cold, so he could
not believe many would attend. But Jack turned out to be wro . . . |
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(213 views) Two young girls were playing in the park when they happened to spot
a dandelion. They ran over to it and plunked themselves down.
Nora Phibert was raised by new-agers that attended
Burning Man every year. She lived in the big house at the end of the lane.
Betty Wellmast lived mid-block in one of the older houses. Her parents
worked in blue collar jobs. Both got home late and relied on Betty
to keep the house tidy.
Nora reached to pick the dandelion.
Betty slapped her hand down on top of Nora . . . |
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(212 views) John, while gazing at a hologram with is mom, had two distinct,
simultaneous thoughts that morning.
First
The flat picture seemed to have depth and movement. "I wonder,"
he said inside is mind. "I wonder if the person in that picture is
real and is looking out at me?"
John thought that perhaps the person in the picture was also at
a party like he. "Look at the funny people in the picture," the person might
say. "They look so real. They have depth and movement and seem so
lifelike."
Perhaps, . . . |
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(212 views) Andy Tipps liked to kick things. Ever since he was a boy, he found
sport in tagging his booted toe to someone's behind. As a teenager
he liked to toss a quarter on the ground and when another kid stopped
to pick it up, he would kick that kid in the behind.
Naturally, kicking made Andy disliked. In fact, in mid adulthood,
he started kicking other things than people, mostly because he'd
been slugged in the eye once too often by folks he'd kicked.
He was hauled before a judge because he was caugh . . . |
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(212 views) Bill Cutter had always been reckless and brave. He'd
worked on the railroad for years and thought nothing of
jumping off and on a moving train.
His vacations typically involved sky diving, or mountain climbing,
or back country bicycling. He had always been athletic
and active.
So, it blind-sided Bill to suddenly become afraid.
First, he developed a fear of heights. That fear caused him
to quit sky diving and mountain climbing.
Next he developed a fear of crashing. That fear caused
him to fo . . . |
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(212 views) Young Wayne Mobblie looked forward to Christmas break.
He needed sleep and relished the thought of sleeping in
each day of the break, except Christmas morning, of course.
Wayne was sleep deprived because he awoke every night at
midnight to the sound of his parents fighting. They would
fight loudly downstairs for two hours then go to bed
themselves. But it wasn't just the yelling that kept
Wayne awake, it was the breaking of dishes and the loud
whip-like snaps.
But every morning, Wayne would st . . . |
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(212 views) Little Sammy Sandstrum looked out the window at the rain. "Mommy," he
called. "Will the rain keep Santa away?"
His mother walked into the small front from the kitchen. She
wore a flour dusted apron and wiped her hands with a dish towel.
"No," she said. "Santa will be here, rain or snow or shine."
"I don't think so," Sammy said. "Come look."
His mother moved up behind him and looked out the window. "What?"
"There on the street." Sammy pointed. "Santa's dead."
His mother spotted a man in the . . . |
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(212 views) L'Moe Defoet was born and raised in Brussels. When he was
eight years old, his father painted the tops of the stone
walk in front of their house with bright colors. "These are
marine-grade paints," he said. "They will last forever."
At 16, L'Moe survived the first great pandemic. His father died.
He and his mother lost all their hair but survived.
After that, L'Moe
took to wearing his father's pea hat everywhere.
At 20, L'Moe survived the second great pandemic. His mother died
that year. L'Moe . . . |
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(212 views)
Bullets in the Fog
© 2007 Bryan Costales
Alan Dexter and Phil Morris were half brothers with a common mother.
Alan was older and taller, but not the wiser of the two.
When they had left for school that morning, the weather was
clear as a bell and sunny. But half way there, while crossing
the pedestrian foot bridge, a fog arose.
"Wo Bro," Alan said. "This fog be gettin' thick."
But his brother was unusually silent.
"What's a matter with you? You scared?"
The fog was now so thick the . . . |
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(212 views) "I guess, when sails get old, they can rip," Phil said to Bob who was
steering the boat back home.
"Damn my dad," Bob muttered. Then looked hard at Phil and said, "Course
you being drunk didn't help."
Carol, Phil's girlfriend had just emerged from the companionway. "Hey,"
she snapped at Bob. "Phil's only been sipping beers. That's pretty
tame compared to you."
"Come on," Phil stood and hugged Carol. "Let's go sit on the front
stoop."
"The bow!" Bob yelled. It was far to easy to poke fun at B . . . |
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(212 views) "What time is it?" Nancy asked her sister.
"Mrful Shoffy," Vicky answered from well tucked into her sleeping bag.
Nancy shook her sister gently. "It's light out."
Vicky's head poked out and sleepy eyes cast about for a reason.
"Too early," she said and pulled her head back into the bag again.
Nancy sat full up and peered through the screen-window of the tent.
"It's light but there isn't any sun yet."
Vicky pulled her sleeping bag tighter around her head.
"I wonder why. Maybe it's because w . . . |
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(212 views) Laughing Hubb, the clown, threw a party for all his so-called friends.
Mostly the gang he called friends were customers who hired him
to perform. Other than that smallish group, he'd never made any
lasting friendships.
Because Laughing was a bit on the poor side, he decorated by coloring
newspapers with paints he'd found set on the sidewalk outside Goodwill.
He held the decorations up with an old roll of masking tape, that no longer had
the will to stick.
He tossed trick handkerchiefs over his . . . |
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(212 views) IHOP had been crowded, so Bill and Emma Cutter ate
brunch outside on the patio of a surfer-style restaurant
on Pier 39. Emma sat with her back to the street as was
her usual habit, deferring to her husband's desire to
watch the "goings on."
Emma had just finished her spinach omelet when she noticed her husband's
hand shaking. She looked at his face. He appeared to be watching
his plate. Then his eyes glanced up and darted back and
forth nervously.
Emma turned and looked, but the street --actua . . . |
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(212 views)
The Chrome Helmet
© 2007 Bryan Costales
George was the first to notice that the helmet was odd. He paid
the kid in the parade $50 for the helmet.
"It belongs to the school," the boy said.
"Fifty bucks," George said.
That afternoon George studied the helmet in his living room. The
reflection was different than the room it reflected. For one thing,
the helmet showed the drapes drawn. But looking straight at the
drapes, George saw they were open.
George, just then, was hit by inspiratio . . . |
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(212 views)
Santa Junior
© 2007 Bryan Costales
Dave Claus looked up to his old man. "Dad," he would often say.
"I want want to be just like you someday."
But his desire to become a Santa played ill while he was in school.
He was beaten by student thugs so often he became numb.
In college he was safer, because there the students simply thought
he was gay.
As an adult, he managed a toy store in a mall. Each year as Christmas
approached, he would beg the owner to let him be the store Santa.
"You're . . . |
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(212 views) Sally Eternali was four hundred years old but inhabited
the body of an eight year old. She wanted to see the
reindeer exhibit at the zoo, so she arrived at the gate
early that morning.
Sally spotted a childless couple and stepped between them.
Taking their hands, she said, "I'm Sally, your daughter."
The couple smiled at her and squeezed her hand. The woman
asked, "Do you look forward to the reindeer, Sally?"
"I sure do."
Once inside, Sally said to the couple, "Forget me."
As Sally ran off . . . |
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(212 views) Tony Toyo crept quietly up the small rise, then fell
on his stomach to stay hidden and stared at the quiet
river. Across from him was a small town, lit and inviting.
Tony was the sole survivor of a massacre. He was a rebel.
Dressed like all rebels in bug suits, they'd crossed a
wide area too soon and all but Tony had been killed.
Tony dog-paddled across the river, but felt odd dog-paddling
in a bug suit. On the other shore he crept carefully from
the water and hid behind a bush. A couple sat o . . . |
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(212 views) Hannah Glow was supposed to meet her blind date under the sculpture
in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency only two weeks before Christmas.
Just that morning she'd talked to her sister Lucy on the phone
about that evening's date.
"How in the world could our mother have ever arranged such a thing?" Hannah
whined to Lucy. "She has such an old-world attitude."
"Maybe," Lucy sounded like she was chewing on gum while she talked.
"Maybe she thinks you need a guy. I sure think you do."
"But this close to . . . |
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(208 views) John looked in the mirror and immediately his brain went in two
completely different directions.
First
John remembered that it took time for light to travel from him
to the mirror and back. Not much time, to be certain, but a tiny
bit of time. This caused John to conclude that his refection was older
than he was.
"So that's what I looked like back then," John said. And so did his reflection.
What if, John wondered. What if a mirror was on Mars? It would take
light many minutes to go from her . . . |
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(206 views) Luis Groops remembered the first snow ever in San Francisco.
It drifted up against the stores and caused automobile
accidents in the streets. His parents told him it was a
fluke, a once in a lifetime event.
That was seventy years ago. Luis now sat comfortably
in an over stuffed chair, his legs covered by a small
blanket. He was surrounded by family. His oldest daughter's
daughter had brought her baby. Imagine that. A great grandfather
and still alive.
His grand daughter on his son's side sat o . . . |
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