The Portal (Free Flash Fiction)

The portal shimmered up at him and if he looked hard enough, he could see things. He could see his dead mother, gesturing for him to come to her. Looking harder, he could see his girlfriend, Summer, blowing a kiss.

They drew back from him and he cried for them to stop. If he waited, they'd be gone forever. So he pushed his face through the portal and let his body rest as Summer's face drew close to kiss him. Then he heard the muffled cries of his daughter, Annie, but it was too late.

The child could do nothing but stand there, sobbing, as her father sat on the stool, his head resting in the sink full of water.

[Published in Black Box (C) 2008 by CD Allen]

Tired. Bubbling.

Argh. Tired. Saw Jen for like two minutes after I got off work as she's doing a sleep over with a RegIV resident tonight. Otherwise I haven't seen her all day. I think I'm ready to sit down and hammer out a new novel. It's bubbling. I'm hoping for some froth. James Devon, my occult detective, is itching for something to do. I think it will be about the Rectors again (see The Rector House in Dark Distortions volume I for more details). I very much a fan of Gothic horror--not subculture gothic, but The Castle of Ontario and The Monk sort of Gothic. The Rector House was my first attempt at working in this sub-genre and the rave reviews about it made me think that that's where I need to be working right now.

Wherein Time Refuses Elasticity

Well, my new official full-time job is as a youth counselor at Springfield Academy in Springfield, South Dakota. So far it's a good job and it's great working with the kids. I usually run the Voyager group (as they call them), which are ages 14 & 15.

Jennifer and I have just sent out our invites. Our wedding is closer (September 12th), so every spare moment is spent getting things done for that special day. Jennifer is glowing and I'm excited, too.

My writing has suffered a lot from all this work. Hopefully I'll be able to pick it up after the honeymoon. There has to be stories hiding in my head somewhere...