(500 words) "Become one with the peanut!” I looked at a small salted peanut sitting on a blue china saucer before me. “How exactly do I do that? “I asked Shinzen, my ‘guru.’ “Imagine it growing underground, in the dark, from a tiny seed, forming in a shell with its companion.” “I thought they grew on … Continue reading How to Eat a Peanut
Tag: 500 word story
A Hidden Place
- (550 words) - ‘Connect the Clues!’ said the library sign. “What’s that about?” I asked a female librarian, middle-aged and plain-looking, with a grey bob of greasy hair. She didn’t look up from her screen, instead pushing a flyer across the desk at me. “Thank you so much,” I said, my sarcasm seemingly falling … Continue reading A Hidden Place
The Electric Frying Pan
- (500 words) - ‘Connect’ 10.05 service from Welwyn to Kings Cross pulled up at New Barnet station. I stood at the open door. It was February 2007, drizzling and cold. Where was Danny?! Suddenly a small stout figure appeared from nowhere, bundling along the platform. Seeing me, he threw himself through the door, his … Continue reading The Electric Frying Pan
Moonlit Gravestones
-(550 words)- Any evening you’ll find me walking round my village, a brisk half hour’s walk. It’s much later tonight, gone eleven. I got waylaid sorting out books in my library, sifting through collections of Daphne Du Maurer and Victor Canning first editions. I pass occasional houses, farms and cottages. Is anyone awake? Alive even?! … Continue reading Moonlit Gravestones
Falling for the Boss
- (500 words) “He imitated someone called Gary Hoy, we found out afterwards. Have you heard of him?” Natalie is speaking about her boss, Simon King and what I’d understood to be his latest ‘exploit.’ She seems edgy. “No I haven't. What happened?” I say, intrigued. Natalie had texted me, asking to meet. So here … Continue reading Falling for the Boss
Scene in a Lincolnshire Churchyard
- (500 words) Eyes, beady all-seeing eyes, watched from above as I stood at my father’s graveside. I turned my binoculars to watch the bird circling high above an adjacent field. It was russet with white patches at the end of each elegant, outstretched wing, a span of at least five feet I adjudged. Although … Continue reading Scene in a Lincolnshire Churchyard
The Downfall of British Journalism
(500 words) Journalism in Britain, impartial investigative journalism, ended on May 3rd 2007, the day our media began saturation coverage of an event that occurred in Portugal. A little girl named Madeleine McCann, aged three, had disappeared from her holiday apartment. So what do I recall of that event? Non-stop coverage on TV with a … Continue reading The Downfall of British Journalism
New Year’s Eve Ritual
- (500 words) - Boxes, special boxes, lie at the bottom of my locked filing cabinet. Deposited there are letters and cards collected throughout my life. From grandparents, school-friends, parents, lovers, wives, children, more lovers, more children... Since the invention of e-mail though, they’ve been few and far between. Tonight it’s New Year’s Eve 2026 … Continue reading New Year’s Eve Ritual
The Hollow Santa
- (500 words) - Christmas 2026, and we had our best tree ever! It was green and frosted silver, perfectly proportioned and reached right up to the ceiling. Its branches were adorned with opalescent silver and golden balls, crimson poinsettia sprays and gold-frosted holly leaves. Giant white snow flakes twinkled in the light of red … Continue reading The Hollow Santa
Killer on the Road
- (500 words) When I told Elizabeth I would pick her son’s cornet up from Thaxby music shop, I wasn’t expecting a confrontation with a killer. “Remember it closes at 4 p.m. He needs it back!” “Yes, it’s only two o’clock. I need to send a couple of e-mails, then I’ll go.” “It’ll be shut … Continue reading Killer on the Road
Here Comes the Sun
(500 words) - Communion with the sun, the ever-burning giver-of-life, was where they were headed. Interminable stone steps rose above them. They carried torches, tiny dots of light bobbing against the black mountainside. The man heard the girl’s sandals scuffing the stone and squeezed her hand. “Almost there.” She was young, slim, perhaps 25. Her … Continue reading Here Comes the Sun
Luck of the Devil
(500 words) Discontent among the lottery-playing public was at an all time high. Nick Naylor sat in front of the TV, clutching a lottery ticket sweatily. Following last week’s ‘fiasco’ he’d chosen five lines of ‘lucky dip’, £2 apiece, for the not inconsiderable sum of £10. “It had to be a scam!” said Jude, his … Continue reading Luck of the Devil