Short Stories

  • Short Story: It’s Never Been About How Long You Stay by Lauren D.

    Short Story: It’s Never Been About How Long You Stay by Lauren D.

    Travel

    This is a guest post by Lauren D. Please see the author’s links if you enjoyed this piece.

    I used to think slow travel meant fewer stamps in a passport. Staying places for weeks at a time. But I’ve realized that you could spend five days in one city and still consume it the same way you’d rush through three countries in five — checklist in hand, camera up, moving from…

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  • Short Story: Crisp Lines by A. J. Evley

    Short Story: Crisp Lines by A. J. Evley

    Crime Fiction / Murder Mystery

    This is a guest post by A. J. Evley. Please see the author’s links if you enjoyed this piece.

    The phone rings at twenty past eight while I’ve got my arms elbow deep in the washing up. I tap the loudspeaker with my driest finger.

    “Marion Turner?”

    “Speaking.”

    “DC Dana Hartfield, Thames Valley cold case unit. Sorry to call so late…

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  • Short Story: Towards The Light by Jun

    Short Story: Towards The Light by Jun

    Non-fiction / City Life

    This is a guest post by Jun. Please see the author’s links if you enjoyed this piece.

    In the city at night, there are lights both familiar and unfamiliar.

    Halfway down a narrow alley, a small shop stood as if cut out of the night.

    Outside the shop, a solitary figure stood beside a motorbike. Was he about to go in. Was he simply looking at the menu. Or was he…

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  • Short Story: Hiking An Hour Before Sunrise by Marielle Ebersol

    Short Story: Hiking An Hour Before Sunrise by Marielle Ebersol

    Non-fiction / Hiking

    This is a guest post by Marielle Ebersol. Please see the author’s links if you enjoyed this piece.

    I was on the trail at five o’clock this morning, an hour before sunrise. As I climbed up the first ridge I stopped multiple times so that I could lean my head back and look up at the stars. They are still so brilliant at that early hour and I love hiking early enough to…

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  • Short Story: Europe From A Cafe Table by Amanya Mathur

    Short Story: Europe From A Cafe Table by Amanya Mathur

    Travel

    This is a guest post by Amanya Mathur. Please see the author’s links if you enjoyed this piece.

    We often assume that culture is created inside the grandest institutions. If we want to understand a civilisation, we visit its museums, wander through its palaces, queue outside its cathedrals and photograph its monuments. History, after all, tends to announce itself through…

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  • Short Story: The Girl Being Chased By The Night by Hephzibah Ojochenemi

    Short Story: The Girl Being Chased By The Night by Hephzibah Ojochenemi

    Fantasy / Dark

    This is a guest post by Hephzibah Ojochenemi. Please see the author’s links if you enjoyed this piece.

    There once was a girl called Olivia, every night she would sneak off into the forest.

    Dancing with the foxes under the moonlight.

    Once the sun rises, she hurries back to bed before her…

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  • Short Story: No Time Soon by Daria

    Short Story: No Time Soon by Daria

    Non-fiction / Travel

    This is a guest post by Daria. Please see the author’s links if you enjoyed this piece.

    Italy sounds so tasteful on my tongue when I say it; even better when the travel agent across from me does.

    He waits for the answer for just a few seconds. I nod. One flight, no return.

    We land what feels like a few steps from…

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  • Short Story: Number 13 by Grace

    Short Story: Number 13 by Grace

    General Fiction

    This is a guest post by Grace. Please see the author’s links if you enjoyed this piece.

    Everything is beige, except the sunlight on my blue denim skirt. A couple, I assume, in fleeces and jeans and round glasses, kiss outside. 

    I wonder as I scribble in my tatty old notebook, when did the shape of…

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  • Short Story: The Person We Could’ve Become by Untangled by Fazilat

    Short Story: The Person We Could’ve Become by Untangled by Fazilat

    General Fiction

    This is a guest post by Untangled by Fazilat. Please see the author’s links if you enjoyed this piece.

    There is something strangely comforting about cafés.

    Not because of the coffee, though that certainly helps. I think it is because of the way so many little lives exist in the same room without ever really…

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  • Short Story: Cities, Coffee, Culture by Awesu Olaniyi

    Short Story: Cities, Coffee, Culture by Awesu Olaniyi

    Non-fiction / Travel

    This is a guest post by Awesu Olaniyi. Please see the author’s links if you enjoyed this piece.

    Having lived in London for years, I rarely plan my explorations. Instead, I begin with a coffee hunt.

    A café is more than just a place to drink caffeine. It’s a temporary home between the street and the city, a place to read, organise thoughts, watch strangers, and…

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  • Short Story: Coffee by Sid

    Short Story: Coffee by Sid

    General Fiction

    This is a guest post by Sid. Please see the author’s links if you enjoyed this piece.

    Okay. So. Coffee. I don’t know who invented this miracle liquid. But they deserve a medal. The first time I had it. I ascended. No. That’s too gentle a word. I launched. I transcended dimensions. My heart pounds like it has just discovered anxiety. I can hear my own thoughts in surround sound. I’m jittering. I am speed. Love this. People often say…

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