Standing sentry outside an abandoned shop
the forgotten vending machine still takes your coins
still dispenses its wares
still waits loyally
day after day
for its old masters to return
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Notes:
1. Written in January 2026
__________Tales From The Town
Tales From The Town #230: Entering And Breaking
“Claire!” Tina said.
“What?”
“You can’t do that!”
“Can’t do what?”
“Climb in through the window like that!” Tina said.
“I can,” said Claire, and proved it by slithering in through the ever so slightly open kitchen window. Then a few seconds later she slithered back out again. “See! And anyway, if Mum didn’t want me to climb through the window she shouldn’t have locked us all out.”
“How do you know Mum’s locked us out? She might have locked herself in.”
“That doesn’t make any sense, Daniel,” Claire said. “And if it did, I’d still have to climb in through the window.”
“But it’s dangerous, Claire,” said Tina.
“Dangerous how?” Claire said. “It’s just a hole. It’s no different from using the door.”
“You don’t go through the door head first, Claire,” Tina said. “What if you fell?”
“I simply wouldn’t fall,” said Claire. “Anyway, I could just as easily go in feet first. Look.”
They all looked as this time she somehow slithered in through the window backwards. Then a few seconds later she slithered back out backwards too.
“See?”
“You better not have knocked Mum’s plants off into the sink,” said Ethel.
“You’re just making things up to complain about now,” Claire said. “Now unless you’ve got any sensible complaints – ” Daniel put his hand up at this point. ” – I’m going to go back inside and let you idiots in and then maybe you can thank me.” Daniel still had his hand up. “Urgh, okay, what is it Daniel?”
“What if…” Daniel said, slowly.
“This better be good, Daniel.”
“What if… a dog bites you on the bum,” Daniel said.
“Why would a dog bite me on the bum?” said Claire. “We don’t even have a dog, for one thing.”
“The cat might bite you on the bum then,” said Daniel.
“Why would the cat bite anyone?” Claire asked. “She’s got claws. She doesn’t need to bite my bum.”
“She might scratch you, then,” said Daniel. “On the knee!”
“Shut up, Daniel,” Claire said, having already disappeared three quarters of the way through the window, only her face visible through the gap as she gave Daniel one last glare.
“Wait, what if…” Daniel said slowly, but this time he was interrupted by a scream and a crash and a splash and what sounded sort of like an explosion and then what was perhaps an implosion, which was quickly followed by several more crashes and then a thud and then two more thuds and maybe even a meow before finally there was a heavy dense unmoving silence.
Then inevitably after a short pause there was considerably less silence for a very long loud time and Daniel, Tina and Ethel didn’t know whether to be relieved or not.
___________
Notes:
1. Written on January 30th, 2026
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Yulia uses the laundrette as a source of divination. Sit and stare into the swirl of soap and socks and see a glimpse of what’s to come. It might not be as accurate as tarot cards or tea leaves, but it’s more satisfying somehow. An hour removed from everyday existence, an excuse to think, a chance to dream, an opportunity to plan.
Her main worry is what she’ll do when this place closes down. It just wouldn’t be the same sitting on the kitchen floor watching the washing at home. Everyone would say she’d gone mad.
___________
Notes:
1. Written January 12th (or maybe January 13th), 2026
__________Support An Accumulation Of Things
If you like the things you've read here please consider subscribing to my patreon or my ko-fi. Patreon subscribers get not just early access to content and also the occasional gift, but also my eternal gratitude. Which I'm not sure is very useful, but is certainly very real.(Ko-fi contributors probably only get the gratitude I'm afraid, but please get in touch if you want more). Thank you!Tales From The Town #228: The Worst Spellings Ever
“Wednesday,” said Claire. “It’s just stupid.”
“It’s no stupider than any other spelling,” said Ethel.
“It is!” Claire said. “You don’t say half the letters.”
“I do,” said Daniel. “I say ALL the letters. Ever.”
“He even says the y,” Tina said, as Daniel stretched the word out beyond a third syllable and into a fourth, and then somehow a fifth and a sixth and a seventh as the Y went on and on and on like a note in a song that never ends. It was beautiful. By the end everyone was in tears (except for Claire who, unsure whether Daniel was proving or disproving her point, had left the room in a rage).
___________
Notes:
1. Written on January 10th, 2026
__________Support An Accumulation Of Things
If you like the things you've read here please consider subscribing to my patreon or my ko-fi. Patreon subscribers get not just early access to content and also the occasional gift, but also my eternal gratitude. Which I'm not sure is very useful, but is certainly very real.(Ko-fi contributors probably only get the gratitude I'm afraid, but please get in touch if you want more). Thank you!Tales From The Town #227: The Witch, Again
You can blanket the woods in snow. You can flood them with rain. Let the summer sun burn the trees down to their bones. Let the winds blow the ashes away.
Through it all the witch remains. Perseveres. Watches the woods grow back around her. Treasures her privacy all over again.
__________
Notes:
1. Written on January 9th, 2026
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