All Stories

Dr. H. Ashford

The call came at twelve minutes past midnight, which Mrs. Vera Calloway considered an imposition of the first order. She had been a conservator of decorative ar…

Yuki Kazehara

By the time Shinji Arai noticed the envelope, he had already mopped the booking hall twice and locked three doors that no one was likely to open again that even…

Luc Devereaux

The lock turns with a wet click. Not rust—blood, maybe, or just the damp of Marseille’s breath on metal. Thierry wipes his palm on his thigh, leaves a smear lik…

Elara Nightwood

The river had forgotten how to flow. Gareth woke to the absence of sound — the wheel silent, the rush gone quiet — and knew before he reached the window that so…

Yuki Kazehara

By the time Rieko Suda burned her fingers on the brass button, she had already decided the evening was badly organised. The washing machine at the end of the ro…

Sofia Verlanti

As she stepped into the apartment, the aroma of sautéed onions and the faint scent of dish soap enveloped her, immediately making her feel at home. She had arri…

Marcus Veil

1. The pump cycled at 0400 hours, a rhythmic shudder that vibrated through the soles of Elara’s boots. It didn't sound like the usual harmonic resonance of an a…

Luc Devereaux

The dish towel is pink at the knuckles. Fabien doesn’t look at his hand. He looks at the envelope. Manila, A4, sealed with a strip of packing tape that’s alread…

Elara Nightwood

The dress arrived with the morning tide, draped across the old stone marker at the edge of the marsh where Mara's mother used to count herons. It was still reco…

Sofia Verlanti

As she stood alone in the kitchen at 6 a.m., the warm water washing over her hands, Emma felt the weight of the day ahead. She was washing a chipped blue mug, i…

Marcus Veil

1. The hydrostatic pressure alarm chirped, a flat, insistent tone that scrubbed against the interior of Lena’s helmet. She ran a gloved hand over the cold, swea…

Yuki Kazehara

The umbrella had no owner. That was the first thing Kenji Matsuda noticed when he knelt to collect it from the waiting area at Namba Station. Rainwater pooled i…