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Latest Stories

March 19, 2024
Fantasy Stories Wondering Monk

Just My Imagination

The alarm clock went off and started playing an awful tune. Tom opened his eyes and closed them back, squinting. He reopened one eye and stood up to stop the torture. The phone was on the desk, in the furthest spot from the bed. Although he changed his way of…
March 19, 2024
Science Fiction Stories Ocelotlzin

Earth Is Dead

Recording… It doesn't matter who I was; I probably lived a long time ago, and I am now just a voice someone added to the audio-visual records. What is essential is the recollection of events that lead to the current state. So, a little history needs to be…
March 08, 2024
Flash Fiction Benoit

Some Enchanted Evening

It was a rugby tackle with tears: Chrissy burst in, sobbing and babbling, hugging James. Her face was all wet, eyes wild. What…? My parents split up, Dad has moved in with his boyfriend and I cannot join them. I am shut out. I have lost my dad. Torrent of…
March 08, 2024
Horror Stories Marvel Chukwudi Pephel

In The Hands Of My Legs

The car pulled up in front of the large salon. The neon sign, that sexy broad thing, on the salon'sroof read "Mr. Gil's All-night Salon". The exhaust pipe of the car was pumping solid smoke, theswirls moving from the car and towards the salon.…
March 07, 2024
Mystery Stories Vanessa Leigh Giles

Casualty of Love in the Time of Coronavirus

Chapter 1 Until Death do us Part ‘Ring, ring!’. I answered the telephone and asked, “Hello, good evening. Who’s this? “Hello.” This is Dr. Smith from Red Cross hospital. “Is this Mr. Locke, John?”, he asked, hesitantly scratching his bald head. “Yes, doctor.…
March 07, 2024
Crime Stories Robert Pook

Bar Room Trigger

Another return journey on footpaths so familiar. He strides across each crack in each paving stone. Regular loose drain covers sidestepped. Mapping long ago mapped in Richard’s desolate mind. His pace hastened by the sight of the oncoming storm. Quickening…
March 04, 2024
Horror Stories Ano Chinemerem

Sanctity

Where should I begin? I could begin by telling you about this comely boy, whom every notable person around the streets agrees his smile could charm the bills off one. Between one smile, there was his goodness, his dreams and humanity—a little far ahead?— but…
March 04, 2024
Flash Fiction Emanuel Diaz

Et Mortui Partium

As Rafael stepped out into the rain, it wasn't the ordinary drops that fell from the sky. Instead, it was a storm of souls, each one taking the form of shimmering jewelry as it cascaded toward the ground. Rubies, diamonds, and sapphires twinkled amidst the…
February 29, 2024
Poetry Jing Li Ava

London

‘Am I in London?’ "I am." Where is Elizabeth? Happy living story All of your chapter Bounlance joy Please my heart Power hand Wise mind Our baby Vow vow Love all love Miss I miss Endless wonder Bring us together Love all love Miss I miss For everything My…
February 29, 2024
Flash Fiction Rob Pook

Life Sentence of The Smith

Born nine months after his country won the World Cup.A child prodigy.Cast off at age twenty-four.Husband, father, emigree, away on the other side of the world.The blue-collar life.The dreams of success.The search for fulfillment.The long years of empty…
February 29, 2024
Mystery Stories Joshua Lowther

The Operator

Jason looked over to his right, his eyes barely able to focus themselves on the subject of his attention. His neck ached terribly from the strenuous movement. He was tired. The captain’s gaze came to rest on the rookie sonar operator sitting tense at his…
February 29, 2024
Flash Fiction Salvatore Difalco

The Chute

At dusk, we left our unit with a soft pink bundle. I carried it through the wet streets and into the black woods. I said I’d take it all the way, the bundle, but that we had to drop it in together. My wife’s green eyes flashed. “Don’t make me do that.” I…

“I want my name back.”

“Well, you have certainly come to the right place, Mr..?”

“What’ll it cost?”

“Hmm. There will be a cost. Your request is unusual. To reunite you with your real name? You must understand that...”

“Name a price.”

The office was airy and minimalist – blonde woodwork, steel and glass, kind of Scandinavian on steroids. The man behind the desk smiled; the sort of smile that might have been accompanied by a spangled glint and the sound of cash registers.

“Please take a seat.”

Murph looked at the name tag on the desk. Hitachi Siemens-McDonalds. Identity broker.

“Yes, I see you eyeballing my name,” said McDonalds. “Three Fortune 500 companies. I clear half a million per annum in presumed nomenclature royalties alone. I’m not even going to hint at what I earn from specifics, but I carry a three-figure CPM rate. A secondary income is important. Affords one a certain presence amongst the ladies, you follow? Sharp suit, fine car, sculpted looks. Money can get you all of these things, my friend. You like the surname? MacDonalds? Minimum sacrifice. Born McDonald - all I did was add the ‘S’. Mythic. All processed here at IdentMart. Our CEO, Mr General Electric BP Royal Dutch Shell, put the package together personally. I can do the same for you, my friend. We are the country’s leading brokers in identity vending. We guarantee increased bandwidth. We’ll triple your exposure profile within two weeks.”

“A nice sales pitch Mr McDonalds, but I don’t want to increase my profile. I just want my old name back.”

He gave McDonalds a defiant stare. “Please?” He added, as an afterthought.

“Could I ask that you call me Mr Siemens-McDonalds? You may call me Hitachi once in every three addresses. My current revenue maximisation ratio, you see. Compliance will, of course, earn you the usual five-percent in reciprocals.”

“Mr Siemens-McDonalds, can you help me?”

“It would help if I understood your reasons.”

“Well, I want my wife back. She’s left me for a... Well I guess she was uncomfortable with my new name.”

“A recent contract? Which agency did the brokerage?”

“Niftynames. I found them in the back of the newspaper.”

“Ahh. Shysters. Cheap-and-not-so-cheerful. Quick returns with no consultation. Flat fee, no royalties. Am I right?”

“Yes.”

“So, what did they saddle you with, Mr..?”

“Murphy. RoxieOLearyWhoreHouses.com Murphy.”

“And let me guess, your wife is unhappy about being Mrs RoxieOLearyWhoreHouses.com Murphy.”

“Just a bit.”

“I’ll need to see your present contract.”

RoxieOLearyWhoreHouses.com Murphy handed over a dog-eared scrap of paper, whereupon Siemens-McDonalds began the ritual sucking-of-air-through-teeth noises.

“You see Mr RoxieOleary...”

“Murph is fine. My friends call me Murph.”

“Ahh, but then you’d be placed in breach of nondisclosure. You are bound by contract, Mr RoxieOLearyWhoreHouses.com Murphy. And from what I can see it is a rather watertight contract.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I believe a trade-off is our only option here.

“I don’t want another corporate name. I just want to be called Frank again.”

“Frank was it? I could work with that. ‘Frankie & Bennys’? Do you like pizza?”

“No. Not Frankie. My name is Frank. Francis Sean Murphy.”

“Was.”

The man formerly known as Frank gave a sickly smile.

Mr McDonalds leaned forward in his chair, a sudden look of gravity in his eye.

“There is another avenue. You could try the priesthood. The Roman Catholic Church provides a small bursary for registering a change of name. Father Francis has a certain ring to it don’t you think? And I doubt if Father RoxieOLearyWhoreHouses.com would sit well with the Vatican.

“I don’t want to be a priest. Remember? I want my wife back?”

“I can see how the celibate life might be an obstacle.”

McDonalds took out an A4 pad and a biro.

“What about your exposure?”

“I, er... not good.”

“Blogs or other by-lines or attributions?”

“No.”

“Subscriptions? Professional bodies?”

“No.”

“Passport?”

“Never travel.”

“Driver’s licence?”

“Sorry.”

“Well, er... library card?”

“Withheld. Overdue fines.”

“You really haven’t put your name out there, have you, Rox... Mr Murphy.”

Murph gave a shrug.

“Can I ask? What was the consideration in the contract with Ms O’Leary’s organisation?”

“Five hundred quid.”

“Per week, month?”

“One-off.”

“I see. There are perks then? Benefits in kind?”

“No, I’m married. I’d never...”

“So why, Mr Murphy? Five hundred pounds? What on Earth were you..?”

“I needed the cash. For a... professional arrangement. I saw the ad in the paper. Make money fast. I applied online. Instant service – new name, print the certificate, cash deposited in the bank.”

“What about cooling off? Did they advise you about the cooling off period?”

“Fourteen days, yes.”

“And did you...”

“I called. They were out. I emailed. Mailer-Daemon sent it back. I wrote. The letter was returned. Then the fourteen days expired.”

“I think you need a lawyer, Mr Murphy.”

“They cost.”

“So do we.”

“I’d hoped we might be able to... come to an arrangement?”

“Such as?”

“We could talk about my wife,” said Murph. “Samsung.”

“Samsung?” MacDonalds turned pale.

“Yes. You know Samsung Murphy? Your mistress?”

“Oh.”

“Oh, indeed.”

“And how did you..?”

“A private detective. Cost me five hundred pounds.”

“I see.”

“Money well spent. He was very diligent.”

“Diligent?” said Hitachi Siemens-MacDonalds. He started to tremble.

“It appears you have been increasing your own exposure, Mr MacDonalds. Not only my wife but that of your employer, Mr GeneralElectric BP Royal Dutch Shell. What kind of a man is your boss? How might he react if I were to, say, forward him the email that is sitting on my PC right now?”

“What do you want from me, Mr... er, Murph.”

Murph nodded. He smiled. “Not sure if I want her back, now. I’ll think on it. But thinking on what you said earlier. ‘A secondary income stream is important; gives one a certain presence amongst the ladies?’”

MacDonalds squirmed and perspired.

“That is a temptation,” said Murph. “But for now, Mr MacDonalds... How about we just get my name back?”

<END>

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