Sky Trails

Flash fiction, romance, adventure, short stories.These stories are intended to be fun. What's wrong with that?

It's why I included several pictures (from Unsplash contributors) – cause they make the story more fun.Sometimes the picture comes first – inspiring the story, or at least a scene. Sometimes the story springs from a single idea – do detectives just basically not like people, are they misanthropes? Are they vampires?

City Mouse, Country Mouse, romance, prisoners, pirates, believers, detectives, space travelers, even a poem about Nebuchadnezzar. Five to ten minutes reading time. You've got that much. 

Excerpt from 'Canes and Quakes: 

Ron sat at his usual place behind one end of the bar, looking at a newspaper or something, and the boys drifted towards the other end. Sophie came over to take their order and gave them a smile.

She delivered Whitman's beer and Weeks soda, but then lingered nearby, sorta wiping the counter.

"Hey Sophie!" called out Ron suddenly.

She looked over.

"Whadya think? Would you rather be in an earthquake or a hurricane?"

Sophie, used to these kinds of terrible quandries from out of nowhere, only rolled her eyes a little. She tilted her head a little. "I don't know. Haven't thought about it much."

"Boys," she said, turning to the two soldiers, "whadya think?"

…

"Well, I guess… I think it depends on the kind of person you are. Some people like to be in control. Or anyway, they like to think they're in control, but really they're not, you know?

Sophie was listening.

"And some people … I guess they like to be surprised. Or maybe they don't mind it. I think they like to have a … challenge or a … surprise… as, like a test they can react to. See … like see what they're made of, you know?"

…

Sophie had a different look on her face. Weeks didn't understand it.

"Get you something to eat?" she said to Weeks.

Private Weeks was startled. She never asked them that. It occurred to him she'd barely spoken to him directly at all.

…

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Weeks decided. He was one of those kind of people that didn't mind surprises at all.