Once upon a time, there lived a young man who was a prince in everything but name. He was tall, handsome and charming. He was the only son of the second son of an affluent family of high-ranking officials at the royal court. He and his elder cousin were educated by the most prestigious scholars… Read more Once Upon A Time

Denise had always thought that Tom was a bit strange. The way she described it to herself was that he didn’t seem to be quite connected, like the other boys she knew. So when one day, out of the blue, he asked her if she’d like to go to the old quarry with him she… Read more An Unexpected Perspective

I have found the Genesis Serpent’s skin! Yes, that Genesis Serpent–though just a leftover piece of him, mind. Desiccated. This may be too religious for you, as at first it was so with me, but I assure you on my scholarly integrity. Shed of evil for once, and shelved in the Chicago Historical Society archives… Read more Genesis Serpent’s Skin Found

“Let’s pretend we are on a raft,” she says, sitting between us on the sofa. “Floating peacefully in the middle of the sea.” She is mesmerising when she speaks. A true storyteller whose lips can weave the world in ways no one else’s can. We can taste the salt on our tongues, feel the wind… Read more Mothership

We would be wrong to assume that the heroes had no inner lives, that they were—and are, for they are with us still—nothing more than sequences of gestures and great deeds. Theseus, for example, often pondered the tumult of his life, usually with uncertainty and dismay, and usually returning to one particular otherworldly afternoon. Having… Read more The Thread

In the old days in Novgorod there was a boy named Sadko, strong, blue eyed and curly haired. Sadko was so poor that he had not a kopek except for what people gave him to play on his dulcimer for their dancing. He was not always happy, for it is dull work to always play… Read more Sadko

& so it was that several years into the future people perched on giant trees among the clouds or walked on miles-tall wooden stilts tied to their feet. This was largely because the surface of the Earth had become uninhabitable due to contamination. Protected by the atmospheric layers’ filters, humans went about their lives, plucking… Read more As Above, So Below

Diddle, the laziest, most unmotivated cow in the paddock, could barely raise a moo. He had an appetite for green pastures and liked to rub his neck and body against the gnarled tree stump at the top of the hill, but he was the only cow in his herd to have never jumped over the… Read more Hey Diddle Diddle, A Modern Exposition.

Meredith stood in the dim corner of the room, mesmerized by her convex reflection in the rabbit’s eye. The animal shivered, as if it knew what was to come. Meredith wanted to climb into the cage, stroke its white matted fur and offer comfort. She’d visited the Distillery many times, but this was her first… Read more The Spirit Safe

He watches her sleep. Her eyelids flutter and he wonders what she dreams of. Probably a tall, dark, and handsome prince such as himself, come to rescue her from her forced, indefinite slumber. He dismounts his prized white steed and pulls out his sword. It glints in the late afternoon sunlight, the metal perfectly polished… Read more A Kiss Before Waking