Tales From The Town #20: Dimensional Perception

The goldfish swam about in their tank. Round and around and around. There was nowhere else for them to go.

“Do you think they can see us?” Daniel asked, as he peered in at them through the glass.

“I hope not,” Tina said. “How would you like it if you looked out the window and some strange giant was staring in at you?”

“Like David!”

“Or Simon!”

“That’d be so weird,” Daniel agreed.

“Anyway, of course they can see us,” Claire said. “They’re goldfish no blindfish!”

But what if their brains can’t even perceive our existence?” Tina said. “Like those frogs that can only see flies if they’re flying around like flies?”

“Those frogs are stupid!” Claire said. “My goldfish aren’t stupid.”

“You’re stupid!” Ethel said.

“I am not stupid!”

“Imagine if there’s things out there watching us right now that we can’t perceive,” Daniel said, as he peered slowly out the window. “Just because they don’t move like people!”

“Like David!”

“And Simon!”

“That’d be so weird!”

The goldfish swam about in their tank. Round and around and around. There was nowhere else for them to go.

________

Notes:

1. Written on May 4th, 2021
2. I just realised that this is basically the end of that Moriarty episode on Star Trek
3. But with goldfish

Tales From The Town #19: Go

Jonathan sped out of the car park.
He sped down the street.
He sped along the bypass.
He sped past the beach.
He sped down the hill and round the roundabout and back up the hill.
He sped past the beach.
He sped along the bypass.
He sped up the street.
She sped into the car park.
Hand brake turn.
Full stop.
Engine off.

Pause.

Wind down the window.
Nod to the adjacent driver.
Cigarette butt out the window.
Smile.
Give them the eyes.
Engine on.
Wait.
Wait..
Wait…

There was no one in town who did not hear him go.

__________

Notes:

1. Written on the 7th and 8th of May, 2021

Tales From The Town: More Pocket Editions

I made some of these last time my niece and nephew came to stay, and now they were here again we made some more. They are every bit as pointless as before, but also quite nice (and this time my niece made one of them herself, and even those she’s only nine she’s already better at all this than me).

These ones were only 4 rather than 8 pages long because to be honest I completely forgot we made them 8 pages long last time.

Pocket Edition #5

The fire horses ran across the lake, and no one could catch them.

Mouth

It wasn’t as big as it should be.

Nose, or possibly a snout

This was as far as it came. We saw no more of whatever beast it might have been.

Eye

No one knew who was to blame

Pocket Tales #6

The Forbidden

No one had ever been beyond. Or if they had, had not yet returned.

The Locked

The key was lost. The contents became more desirable with every passing day.

The Lost

Nobody knew whose they were. They waited and waited and waited and waited and

Pocket Tales #7

The Bird (From Above)

A crow made of scorch marks upon the grass upon the hill.

The Moon (Again)

The moon had no face. They would never forgive those that said that it did.

A View

It wasn’t worth the climb, let alone the fall.

An Escape

Freedom always leaves the captors feeling sad. That makes it even sweeter.

Pocket Tales #8

Mirror

It shimmered as if it was the sea.

Snail Hug

It might have been small but it mattered the most.

Violet On Cliff

It waited for the day the sea would consume it.

Bird Bench

They waited for him to return, as if they were family.

Pocket Tales #9

Shoes

They had been up there now longer than most of us had been alive.

A Coat

It blew through the night like a ghost.

The Hat (A Metaphor)

The hat was very dignified, until it burned beneath the sun.

_________

Notes:

1. Written between 10th August 2021 and 12th August 2021
2. Pocket Tales #8 was written by my niece Florence

Tales From The Town #18: The Eggs

“Mum! Mum! The eggs hatched!”

“The eggs?” Agnes said.

“The eggs at school!”

“They were in an incubator!” The way Ethel said this she made it sound like four separate words rather than one whole one – ‘ink you bay tor’.

“There were three chicks!”

“And two ducks!”

“And an alligator!”

“And a shark!”

“There wasn’t a shark?!” Agnes said.

“There was!”

“It drowned!”

“But in the air!”

“It was so sad!”

“It wasn’t that sad,” said Claire.

“It was.”

“It really was.”

“It was the saddest thing ever.”

“It does sound quite sad.”,” Agnes said.

“It wasn’t sad at all,” Claire insisted.

She looked out the window at the graves in the garden. She couldn’t understand why she wanted to cry.

__________

Notes:

1. Written on the 7th and 8th of May, 2021

Female Kill Machine

“It was the end of the 21st century. The space race had been won. The solar system had been colonised, the limits of human expansion had been reached. We had everything we wanted right here. Total corporate control of civilisation had been achieved. Quantum computing and nanotech alchemy allowed for the creation of any and every desired product at the instant of verified order confirmation and successful payment processing.

“It was a true utopia for all.

“In a world like this, there was only one frontier left on which any self respecting decillionaire could compete, and that was to try and perfect the ultimate technology and finally create a fully autonomous Female Kill Machine.”

Female Kill Machine is a lightning-paced absurdist quantum explosion of ever-escalating cyberpunk insanity and hyperviolence from the popular children’s author of Spiders Are Wonderful and Do Not Disturb The Dragon. Available on ko-fi (pay what you want); amazon (£2.99, or free on kindle unlimited); itunes (£2.99) and patreon (free for subscribers).

It’s about 25000 words / 120 pages long. It’s quite good please read it and maybe even recommend it to other people who you think might well want to read it too. Thank you.

______

Notes:

1. Female Kill Machine was written between Monday 26th July, 2021 and Sunday 8th August, 2021
2. And edited on Monday 9th August, 2021
3. And then published on Tuesday 10th August, 2021
4. No point hanging around
5. It’s not like this is going to get any better with time
6. But still I hope you enjoyed it
7. And I’m sorry if you didn’t