A magician came to our town one dreary day after a large thunderstorm. He carried a briefcase that he claimed was filled with people’s hopes and dreams. The briefcase was large and wrapped in an exotic coating. Many witnesses described seeing it move under the magician’s grasp. The magician was a tall man wearing bizarre, yet exquisite clothes. People found themselves mesmerized by the stranger for reasons they didn’t understand at the time. He charmed the crowds with his many otherworldly tricks such as conjuring daisies out of thin air. He set up a shop in the town afterward. He had claimed that he had entertained the likes of olden kings and queens in their courts. “Come one and all…

Part 1 Two people, a man and a woman, were deep in the woods, running aimlessly. Sounds of the blaring sirens were still in the distance, but the despicable duo had long since abandoned their weapons in the hopes of diverting the authorities from conducting further research into their whereabouts. They were deep in the woods when the sirens faded. The two breathed a sigh of relief. “You nearly got us caught, Gretel,” the man grunted. He rubbed some of the sweat accumulating from his forehead with the back of his hand. The woman, named Gretel, scolded her partner’s shortness of breath. “Well, if someone didn’t leave me behind to cut up the evidence, we’d be gone before the neighbors…

When the Wind Blows. That was a title I hadn’t heard in a long time. It was just obviously a British animated film based on a graphic novel by Raymond Briggs. You know, the guy who did The Snowman? It centered around an elderly couple then one day, word came out that war would break out in three days. The graphic novel was written around the height of the Cold War. The threat of nuclear war was as high as it is now. I’ve always had morbid affection for dark animated films. Watership Down; The Plague Dogs; Felidae, you name it. When the Wind Blows fit snuggly in that bubble. Having watched it religiously on YouTube, the film was ultimately removed most likely because of it…

Do not give into astonishment as you’d often hear the self-transforming machine elves proclaim as you enter their world through hallucinogenic drugs. That was a lesson I’d not too long forget. I encountered them when my soul escaped my body and broke through a series of gates until I fell through a chrysanthemum-like mandala. They came to me vibrating like sapient balls. At the same time, their bodies melted into the pulsing ground only to reassemble. Sometimes, their limbs would be placed astray on their body contrary to where they would reasonably be. They all spoke in unison about how delighted they were that I had finally come to visit them. I have the idea that they do this to anyone…

Chapter 1 The town was abuzz with the whirring of cars and the ceaseless hustling and bustling of busy bodies so obsessed with their routines, they would unknowingly let life pass them by and miss out on the simple things. Several people chatted loudly as they crossed the streets on their way to work. Suffocating, black smoke from many a car’s exhaust pipe permeated the air and polluted the sky with clouds of smog. Rats scavenged for food and left trails of wet, goopy trash along the walking paths. The unsanitary conditions would lead to the spread of several pestilences leading to the town’s hospitals becoming clogged. A clap of thunder eviscerated the sound barrier accompanied by the steady drizzle…

I’m a photographer, self-taught to be exact. At the moment, I’m working in my dark room to develop some pictures for my portfolio. The pictures are resting in trays filled with chemicals – one a mixture, another acetic acid, and the last with ammonium thiosulfate. That’s one thing that I learned about photography. You have to wait. You have to be patient. I have a confession to make. I don’t like showing people my work. I know that sounds ridiculous. What kind of photographer doesn’t want to show the world his work? Isn’t that the point of photography – to catch a moment in time and share it? Well, I’m just embarrassed. You see, I don’t like rejection. Not after…

My fiancée, Robert, had gone to his best friend Lewis’ house for a night of gaming and movies. You know, Guy’s Night In. I personally imagine a lot of manly grunting and crude jokes. Anyway, at around 5 pm he kissed me and said goodbye. I spent most of the evening working on my art. Drawing commissions are a pain because usually, what inspires my client is usually one of the things that turns my creative wheels the least. Eventually, I gave up and turned to my old standby – Netflix. I’d been meaning to get back to my Buffy the Vampire Slayer binge. I’d left off somewhere in the middle of the third season, and my ‘TV OCD’ as…

I was awakened by the sound of screeching car tyres and muffled dance music playing in the distance, I climbed out of my warm, comfy bed and headed to my window, the glass had frosted over, as I wiped the frost away I was greeted by the blizzard just outside my window and the glare of the headlights as a car came speeding by my house and into the night, as the unmistakable sound of DFG’s latest CD, faded away. As I looked out through the thick snow, I could see what looked like a person laying on the ground, had I just been woken up by the sound of a hit and run taking place? I quickly put my…