100-Word Fiction: ‘People at Christmas’

I don’t always see the difference between children and adults. Rather, I don’t see adults, only children. Children everywhere, shopping with pushchairs, snoring in suits on morning trains, smoking outside bars of an evening: children all. I see them now with tinsel and antlers on their heads, Santa hats, stressing about the last days atContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘People at Christmas’”

100-Word Fiction: ‘Some Old Queen or Other’

And so what if they thought she had nothing to offer and nothing to say? If they thought she had no place in the modern world, then what? She would ride it out, keep going, fix herself on being there, again, always. What would they know about independent thought? They dieted on whatever fodder theyContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘Some Old Queen or Other’”

100-Word Fiction: ‘In No Particular Order…’

1. Dress up and jive dance at the Clore ballroom. 2. Watch carol singers on a giant screen in Paternoster Square. 3. Take the kids to My Brother the Robot at the Roundhouse. 4. Shop for last-minute gifts at a ‘German’ market on the South Bank. 5. Donate blood at Leytonstone Methodist Church. 6. HearContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘In No Particular Order…’”

100-Word Fiction: ‘How Will We See?’

In the future we will see Everything in three dimensions. What? The robin whistling The mud underfoot The long journey home Hands in gloves The cheers at the bar The chiming bells The turning of a page The plans being made The mildness of the air The perfume of a fir tree The warmth ofContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: ‘How Will We See?’”

100 Word Fiction: ‘At This Time of Year’

A barn owl crosses the fields, just here, every morning at seven o’ clock, at this time of year. And sometimes a deer jumps out from the hedgerow. Church towers can be seen every mile or so, through the bare trees, on towards the horizon and the cold, cold sea. We are on our wayContinue reading “100 Word Fiction: ‘At This Time of Year’”

100-Word Fiction: Soon

He lit a cigarette, pressed up against the wall, sheltering from the freezing air. The cigarette would warm him. Taxis and buses clattered along the street, which was still wet from the rain. There were voices and laughter from inside the pub. It was packed. Always was at this time of year. So tiring. SoContinue reading “100-Word Fiction: Soon”