Fiction

Within a week the riot was forgotten.  By official decree the looters were forgiven and the insurance companies were ordered to pay for all damages to the stores.  There was no danger of the insurance companies going out of business, since a new law had made bankruptcy illegal.  No new businesses were allowed to form, and no old businesses were allowed to dissolve.  These were the orders of the Committee. Franklin Delware was eleven years old.  His mother was thirty-three.  He was a quiet … [Read more...]

There once was a little line. The line was sad and lonely. “I want to be part of a shape,” the line said. “Then I would have friends and a purpose.”  The line tried to join a triangle, but the triangle wouldn’t let the line join. “If you join us, they we won’t be a triangle any more, we’ll be a rectangle.” The line tried to join a square. The square didn’t want the line to join either. “If we let you join us, we won’t be a square any more, we’ll be a pentagon.” The line moved away from the … [Read more...]

When it was all over, she threw a blanket around herself and sat on the stool by the window, looking out at the abandoned scraps of the junkyard as the sun was swallowed by the horizon and the eerie light of dusk crept slowly across the city. A cold draft blew in from the window and found its way beneath the blanket across her naked skin. Her legs were crossed and her elbows were pressed close against her side as she leaned over the window sill. Her hair dried slowly, and the water dripped onto … [Read more...]