The aged queen sat in her once-noble throne, staring at a marble wall lavishly inlaid with gold. The throne room had once been a marvelous place, in the days when the queen was young and vital. Now it seemed a sleepy memory of its former magnificence. Though the traffic brought by official royal business had never dwindled, the splendid fetes and balls and masquerades had diminished to practically nothing over the years. Oh, the queen still had her royal gatherings and celebrations on occasion, but nothing ever to rival the old days.
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The Funeral Parlor
Elmer O’Rourke had been Director of O’Rourke’s Funeral Parlor for the last ten years, having inherited the business after his father Seamus had passed away. I say “passed away” now; before I worked for Elmer, I had always said “died” in ignorance of my own insensitivity. Apparently, people weren’t supposed to up and die anymore, instead everyone passes away. I never bothered to ask where exactly they pass to. Anyway, Elmer’d had the run of this place for the last ten years, and I’d worked for Elmer for the last three weeks. Read the rest of this entry »
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Betraying Justice
I woke up in the early hours before dawn, in that eerie transition between darkness and light when the sky hasn’t yet begun to lighten but the birds are singing in merry anticipation. I stared blearily at my bedside candle that burned throughout the night; I never slept in the dark. It seemed to burn with an anticipation of its own, and altogether different from that of the birds. Day was coming and the flame would be extinguished. Would it ever be lit again? In a day’s time, perhaps less, I would know. I had planned this day for the last several months, and dreamt of it for years.
Today I would kill my husband. Read the rest of this entry »
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