It’s such a waste of space, these railway tracks. Toys and models can be aboveground but the real ones should be underground. Of course, I’m not sure how much difference that would make to me right now. The trains are often late anyway. If it isn’t an ‘accident’ at some …
2 December 2009 When I came in to the small town of Arviat on the northwest coast of Hudson Bay I was disappointed at the lack of majesty I had been expecting. Instead the landscape was flat and full of grey ice. The town was a series of wooden cabins, …
Shallow sinuous channels lace the marsh on their way to the sea. Somewhere in the evening gloom, my brother ferries his cargo of contraband swiftly along the reed-fringed waterways, his nimble flat-bottomed boat evading the excise men with ease. Further inland, the salt marsh gives way reluctantly to fresh water. …
Things begin in the morning before we wake up. The sky has already turned, and by the time we open our eyes the flowers have already opened to the sun. And every morning before school I have an existential crisis. You see, it’s a hassle pushing off the covers. It’s …
The FULL DRONE Award represented our largest short list to date. At eleven submissions we might have to start calling it the long list, and all that in just one week! Despite the strong field the winner was pretty clear cut, taking out a majority of the peer vote …
Who are you, what awesome things do you do? My name is Shoshana Kessock. I’m a game designer at the NYU Game Center studying to get my MFA degree. I’m also the creator of Phoenix Outlaw Productions, an independent game company focused on tabletop and live action roleplaying games. I’m …
The drone was omnipresent. Like a large shadow it hovered above her home, coving her house in darkness when it should have been daylight. At night it was loud, striking her friends and family with screams of its fire and anger. Her mother tried to explain to her why …
It happened again. Aara woke up shrieking and crying inconsolably in the midnight. Her mother Zara took her into her arms and spoke soothing words, consoling her and rocked her to sleep once more. After Aara’s eyelids dropped, Zara covered her up with her quilts and sank back into the …
Clickety-clack. I can barely hear it over the squealing in my ears. Clickety-clack-clack. But I can see it: a twisted metal snail lurching into the station. It heaves and gives out in front of me, and as the train’s doors open there’s a brief reprieve. I’m clicking my fingers to …
Johanna was indulging in a lovely memory of a warm summer’s day when her thoughts were interrupted by a drawing being thrust in her face. “Mama, look,” said Shelly, wiping a bubble of snot onto her sleeve. Her mother scowled and pulled a worn tissue from her pocket, wetting it …
For some people, rain is refreshing. For others it’s annoying, or cold, or wet, or fun. For him, rain was refreshing if he wanted a quick exit from this world. It was annoying when it dropped on his fields. It was inhumanly cold when it doused a school. It was …
The jeep shuddered and bounced over rocks and sand, filling the air with choking red dust. The cars ahead of her shimmered in the hot sun, sweat beading across her brow and her shirt cling closely to her skin. Sharon knew every dent and scratch in those cars, knew the …
‘They deserve what they get.’ 54 Likes -Like – Comment ‘Why do we care about foreign casualties when we have our own problems at home.’ 132 Likes- Like – Comment ‘They are just animals anyway’ 73 Likes – Like – Comment We live in a culture where hatred and degradation …
I saw my first Angel when I was little, about a year ago. I was six. There were fireworks in the clouds one night, far, far away. I only got to see fireworks once before then, when my Da’ took me to a party. But they were heaps bigger this …
Vaughn, without even a glimpse, tossed the PDA to Gabriela. “Only a few today but need to pick up something at Athena Industries.” He pointed to the small purple patch on her face. “You alright? Maybe you should put some ice or a frozen lamb chop on it.” Gabriela skimmed …
So a belated announcement this week, as we waited patiently for the judges to get their votes in. I suppose you feel for them. It was a close short list, with not much to separate the submissions in terms of quality or adherence to the topic. In the end there can …
A fact I learnt very early on is that people are all made of different things. Some have solid bodies of steel, others walk around in a natural gleaming skin of twenty-four carat gold. There are those made of just plain fabric, weak, brown, stuffed with chicken feathers and spluttering. …
I’m not going to lie, there were a lot of emails exchanged with the NITH judges over this award (Cheeky – The Ed). It was great to see three highly original takes on Jason’s piece, and congratulations should go out to all our entrants. However there can only be one …
The nice thing about the new fridge is that she didn’t need to open it up to figure out what she wanted. The clear doors made things much easier, and was energy efficient, too. The main problem was that Charlie wasn’t hungry. She wasn’t thirsty, either. She was in a …
It was there when she got home, the blood red envelope, with its wax seal. She’d always thought it was dramatic. Why not just send a fax. Rubbing her bald head she cracked the envelope and read through her latest assignment. Another operative had been uncovered working to help the …