Enlightenment
The knock on the door was rapid, peremptory. Before I could answer, it opened and a tanned, silver-haired man…
Bluebells and Lavender
‘It smells like a public convenience in there,’ said Daniel. Sheila was standing in the hallway still wearing her…
Old Men in Jeans
‘This should be our starting place,’ I reckon, said Bill to his old friend Jack. ‘Good choice, looks like.’…
A Question of Desire
A long time ago when I was young and when much of the world was still coloured red on…
Downstream the Water Darkens
There are only a few days before we have to go home. Summer is nearly over. A flash of…
Chest of Drawers
Mercia stood in the street with the chest of drawers. It was an ugly thing, with heavy rectangular handles…
Enclosed Orders
It was on page thirteen of Le Figaro, among items of national interest: an appeal by Monseigneur Jérôme Vallon…
One Shrug in Particular
Sensible and slightly hapless to the young foreigner’s eye, the teacher’s court shoes had obviously been purchased after much…
Hunting the Jaguar
‘Where are you going?’ Inez asks ‘Nowhere,’ says Raoul. ‘Just out.’ The door slams and the house is empty.…
The Balm of Oranges
Harry Woodruff is sitting across from me at my table in the Sydney Free Legal Centre. His eyes are…
All the Wonders
His phone goes. The deep, quickening notes of the Jaws theme. Which means it’s his ex-wife. Not his joke.…
Be Still the River
Nine days after burying their mother in a grove of milkweed and cypress, Ingrid took her sister, Baya, away…
Candles for Corinne
I’ve lost my story. Do you have one spare or know where I can find one? I’d pay good…
Les Pieds de Dieu
When the bluebottle lands on the mantelpiece and settles on a note tucked behind Granddad’s carving of something, …
Will Wonders Never Cease?
I’ll get in the water someday, my trick will fail, and then goodnight. –
Harry
Houdini…
Goodbye, Crocodile
From the house I can see the path that leads to the valley. That is where I will go…
Postcolonialism for Beginners
It’s already dark when we leave the beach. The sun has dropped below the horizon with a speed that…
Death and the Maiden
Did you know Ilina? She used to come here all the time and sit with us after we had…
The Late Train to Santa Fe
On my twelfth birthday my father came to my bed in the quiet of night. It was July and…