children – Post Modern Existential Horror

Admissions

The letter made its instructions clear. Parents are to drop their children off at X location at Y time, in order to make Z as easy as possible for all of ϴ. “You should consider yourself very lucky,” they said. “We pulled a lot of strings to get you into this high school, and you… Continue reading Admissions

An alarm clock is ringing. The child it belongs to reaches out to stop it, and yawns herself awake. With a stretch of her arms over her head, she leans over and cartwheels out of bed. As she skips down the stairs, she nearly slips on various wrappers and old clothes, but catches herself with… Continue reading Advertisement

Speaker

He had given enough speeches to know when he was losing the crowd. Now, for instance. While he spoke of dreams and realities, students were flirting with each other, as they do. Some teacher shushed, though hers was the voice that carried. “Now I hear you. I know what you’re thinking. Who are you, up… Continue reading Speaker

Funny

Other kids on the bus sat next to each other, but Marcus always managed to have his own seat. Most days, he wore headphones, but someone had taken them from his cubby today. He had cried, but it hadn’t mattered. His friend Kira called him boring and a crybaby, and now he had nothing to… Continue reading Funny

Baby

Her first few memories were of love. As soon as light hit her face, she was held in her mother’s arms. She had milk and a merciful touch across her body. Later, she woke up in a room that was apart from everything. She looked up, the only direction her head was facing, and saw… Continue reading Baby

The children are outside, playing a game of rock, paper, scissors. They say the words with great concentration as they beat their fists into their palms. The little boy wins more often than the little girl does, but is more frustrated when he loses. The girl is frightened of his emotion, and because she only… Continue reading Advertisement

Twins and Triplets

Ernie had wanted to have chocolate cake on his 8th birthday, but Bernie and Journey had voted for vanilla. “We’re not getting more than one cake,” their father said, and that was the end of the discussion. Ernie hated when they won. His brothers were inseparable. They played together constantly, to the point of having… Continue reading Twins and Triplets