Beatrice hurried down the alley, careful to avoid the piles of trash and murky puddles lining the edges. A fine rain dotted the surface of the water with tiny pinpricks. She flipped up her hood.

Ahead, she spotted a single light above a door in the otherwise dark alley. Paul’s Meats DELIVERIES, the sign read. She shifted the heavy bag on her shoulder and slipped a thin black case from her pocket...

Janine sat on her front porch and took a drag from a cigarette. She closed her eyes, enjoying the nicotine head rush. It had been a long time since she’d smoked out in the open like this. Usually, she’d have to duck behind the shed out back so Donna wouldn’t see.

“Checking on the garden,” she’d say before slipping out for a sneaky cigarette. Janine took pride in her garden, Donna knew, so there w...

I don’t even look up from the newspaper when the shaking starts. My hand reflexively goes to the glass of water in front of me, holding it steady so it doesn’t vibrate off the kitchen table and smash to the floor.

When the shaking stops, I glance at my watch. About a minute. Just a little tremor.

“They’re getting closer together,” my mother says, standing at the kitchen sink, her back to me. Th...

When the time comes

Bury me beneath my favourite tree

No casket. No shroud

Let my body touch the earth

Let me feed the worms and insects

Let me seep into the soil

I will travel up tree roots

Nourish lush green leaves

When seeds scatter in the wind

Particles of my soul will float on the breeze

I will return to the earth

To sprout new trees. New life

I will go on forever

Because you buried me beneat...

My feet are filthy. Even wearing runners, I feel the grit inside my shoes, working its way through my socks to the sweaty skin underneath. I know instinctively these socks will be trash when the day is done.

That’s something they don’t tell you about Rome - how dirty it is. Thousands of years of dust and grime swirl on these ancient streets. You can literally feel the sands of time grind between ...

Margaret pressed her ear against the door.

“Hear anything?”

She flapped her hand in annoyance, signalling Jerry to be quiet.

She closed her eyes, straining to hear through the wood. Jerry paced across the small room behind her. She concentrated on tuning out the dull thud thud thud of his footsteps. Her teeth clenched, biting back a sharp “Shut up!”. If she made any noise at all this close to t...