October 2010
1 post
The Way to Svalbard
The woman braced to a halt. She stepped out of the solar-ped wagon and scanned the horizon, checked her compass. A rangy hound hopped out as well, circled the wagon and relieved itself. The day would heat up soon enough, forcing them to rest. She needed to find a suitable area to set up their midday camp. She spotted an outcropping and headed onward. She called for the dog. “Come on Jasper, let’s...
March 2009
3 posts
Yurei No Kabe
When I was a student living in Okinawa Prefecture, I would occasionally hear about a little-known tourist attraction called Yurei No Kabe, or, The Wall of Ghostly Voices. Located on Iriomote Island near the Maryudu Falls, you’ll find hidden amid the dense overgrowth and lush coves of orchids and sweet alyssum, a deeply pocked overhang stretching seventeen metres tall. I have tried to find it on...
Creep Fruit
A young woman and a young man peer into the chain-link fence to catch a glimpse of the arboreal mystery. The army of guards and researchers make it very well impossible, but every once in a while, inside the compound, one—if one is patient and lucky enough—can catch said glimpse of a dwarf and wrinkled tree bearing dull green grey fruit of a most peculiar shape—round with several banana-shaped...
The Pastor
It had come to pass that in the year 2098, in the last standing church of the last remaining archdiocese, the last ordained archbishop led his flock through one final sermon on this last day of the year. The bitter December air clung to their breaths as the parishioners huddled together into the first few rows and strained to hear the projected whispers of this humble octogenarian who was less...