A long time ago, when there was no internet or smartphones, a young Iranian man lived with his grandparents in a small town in India—or as Iranians call it, Hindustan. Parsa had been raised by his grandma Molood and grandpa Jamal since he was two, after his parents died in a plane crash on a […]
Molly was roused from sleep in her chair at the computer by a scruffing sound arising from the fireplace. Something was amiss. She looked around first for her pet cat, Freya, but found her asleep on the bearskin rug before the hearth, snoring softly. Some watchcat, thought Molly with mild annoyance. But, at least Freya […]
The bees’ knees were clattering noisily as they leaped from one flower to the next. So noisy were they that Tofu, the inimitable squirrel, who was the king of all he surveyed, was distracted in his search for acorns and nuts. “Silly Bees,” he scoffed impatiently. “What’s wit’ you, squirrel?” asked Darvon, a bumblebee, annoyed. […]
It was noon of a bright winter’s day. The air was crisp with frost, and Nadia, who was walking beside me, found her curls and the delicate down on her upper lip silvered with her own breath. We stood at the summit of a high hill. The ground fell away at our feet in a […]
The Maple Tree Inn started life as a rich man’s farmhouse. “Old Nick’s a rich man, indeed,” my father told me. “He won’t eat hot dogs.” We lived over the ridge from Nick and there was a rolling pasture where I’d train my binoculars on Nick as he hobbled about on his cane. One day […]
A daughter was born one day to the King of a prosperous kingdom. She was christened Malade. She was a very even-tempered and pleasant girl, and a joy for her father to behold, until one day she was afflicted with a tremor about her features. A severe juddering affected her hands and face, and was […]
When I was younger, I lived by a wide canal. In the mornings, the sun rose like a long gold ball on the water. The drawbridge was next to my house and when the bridge went up, the cars lined down the road waiting for the bridge to close. When the bridge went down, the […]
Meryl stood with her two sisters, peeping through the display window of the candy shop, and silently observing the striking array of sweets which were perched upon beautiful crystal dishes and vivid red skirting. Meryl licked her pink lips. At her side stood Wendy who, at seven, was three years younger. And next to Wendy […]