Episodic story part 5: the media

But I feel nothing. What can the police do if this man decides to splatter my brains over the wall? They are here for Nyathi, not me and the odds aren’t stacked in my favour. Very few possible outcomes involve me leaving with my life intact, despite this man’s promise not to kill me. Police [...]

Episodic story part 4: off guard

My bar is understated. When I…when we first bought the house it was a garish affair fitted with the kind of kitsch paraphernalia you typically find in these kinds of places. My wife had other ideas – to be honest she didn’t even want the thing but I thought it would be fun so she [...]

Episodic story part 3 – clean

As I step into the shower the blood stops flowing. The pleasure is sublime – the steaming water washes over my head; sweat dissolves, my body feels smooth and fresh. I forget the situation outside the glass walls of the cubicle, wallowing in the spray – I lose myself in the water and the soap and the [...]

Episodic story: Part 2 – mess

For a moment I lie there. Quiet. The faint hum of electricity, a bird, the distant roar of an aeroplane, my breathing but…quiet. Then I open my eyes, slowly - thankfully it’s only my nose that’s broken – my eyes are still functional. When my vision clears, through the sweat and tears, I see the man, [...]

Episodic story: Part 1 – the smell of sweat

It’s the acid stench of sweat that first hits me and then I scream, as the intense agony of being dragged by the roots of my hair connects with every pain receptor in my cortex. As he pulls me and I struggle to keep up, lashing uselessly at the body in front of me, I [...]

Shakaville – apologies for the ridiculous number of paragraphs:can’t seem to cut and paste stories properly

Shakaville 
           It was a great day. The sun was blazing, the sky was empty and blue The midday air was sticky with humidity. No one knew exactly where we were headed. Peter was the only one with a licence since he had had to repeat standard eight. This meant he made the choices about where [...]

SHE

 I was waiting anxiously outside the pharmacy, the chill wind sweeping through my overcoat, indifferent to the fur lined suede. I jiggled around, shaking, sucking on my cigarette, breathing out the damp smoke, flicking the ash over and over like a nervous junkie. Where was she, where was she, that slight beauty with the trembling [...]

him

“Place it in the hat.” I said. There was this man sitting on the side of the island.  The traffic light had just turned red. Usually they knock on the window, or mumble a lot, point at their tummies, lock onto your eyes, drilling into your white guilt. He was just sitting there on the [...]

The walk: a south african tale

 Freaking Friday night! I think, sitting awhile, tired of the emptiness of my television, a cold reminder that I’m alone tonight. I decide to take a walk to get some fresh air, a little exercise to clear the head and besides, my cigarettes have run out. 
The evening is colder than I thought it would be. But the air is [...]

50 word story composed in a meeting

One day a little boy walked home with his loving mum because he was scared of the ragged bullies that lurked in the bush. Why were they waiting, he mused, holding her hand tightly. Pensive, he watched the sun disappear behind the silhouette of his quaint suburban paradise, and sighed.