Tag Archives: sleep

ANOUSHKA YEOH: Buzzzzz

Artistic, Odd, Submissions, , , ,

The bus rocks. I catch my sleepy head before it lolls. There is an insistent buzzing from behind, like a bluebottle, if bluebottles were the size of a safari animal. I imagine it taking up the wheelchair space, crouching iridescent and pulpy, vibrating, goggle-eyed. I can’t bring myself to look.

Anoushka Yeoh is a writer from London and a mother of two. She studied Biomedical Sciences, made an ill-advised segue into the Law and now writes about motherhood, neurodiversity and deafness. She is currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck, University of London.

JAMES ROSS: Falling

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

She slept now, chest rising and falling, even and slow, eyes flickering beneath their lids, dreaming. He whispered her name, but she didn’t stir. Brushing strands of hair from her eyes, he kissed her soft cheek and then rose quietly from their bed. Silently, he closed the door behind him.

James Ross wrote this story.

ED N WHITE: Dream Catcher

Submissions, , ,

Sometimes my dreams seem so real I think I can reach out and touch them. Sometimes they don’t. This last one worries me the most: I can’t tell the difference.

I’ve stayed awake now for almost two days, feeling more secure with each passing minute that nothing bad will hap…

Ed N. White has recent stories accepted by The Scarlet Leaf Review and Wordgatherings (Dec. issue).

SIMON CLARKE: Dream, and I’ll Come For You

Adventure, Odd, Submissions, , , ,

When I was seven I saw forks rising out of the mattress underneath me as I arched above them, terrified.

It happened again last night.

Too old and infirm to move, I lie here impaled by phantom forks through my eyes, mouth, heart, and spine.

They all think I’m dead.

Simon Clarke was born in and raised and currently resides in East Anglia, United Kingdom. He has been writing fiction for at least five years and regularly submits to UK and international publications as well as reading short pieces and poetry at open mic events. He is currently working on his first novel and continues to write short stories and poetry.

NIAMH McNAMARA: Perchance to Dream

Adventure, Odd, Submissions, ,

Forty Winks stands at the precipice, gauging the distance left to travel, weighing out options. Her time is almost at an end, and knowing that, she craves existence even more.

The drop, deep and treacherous, is the only way. She jumps: too late. The alarm pierces through her.

You wake.

Niamh writes, travels, and meets people who like to share stories.

BETH TILLMAN: Bedtime Scents

Artistic, Submissions, , , , , ,

Mother in evening dress and mink hugs me. Chanel No. 5 and a hint of dead animal deliver separation.

Her hand stroking my face bestows Jergen’s lotion, a thread of connection as she closes the door.

Alone in bed, I stargaze and clutch Snoopy, whose fur smells only of me.

Beth keeps her Winnie-the-Pooh blanket in her safe deposit box next to a Confederate dollar bill.  You can find her blog at www.sideglimpses.com.

KRISTINA ENGLAND: The Small Things

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

Amanda woke to crinkling paper.

She squinted at her husband as he flipped through a magazine at 5:00 a.m. on a Sunday. “Do you have to make so much noise this early in the morning?”

Jerry lowered his reading glasses.

“It depends, really… Do you have to snore when you sleep?”

Kristina England resides in Worcester, Massachusetts. Her writing is published or forthcoming in Gargoyle, Short, Fast, and Deadly, Yellow Mama, and other magazines. For more on her writing, visit kristinaengland.blogspot.com.

CONNELL WAYNE REGNER: Microsleep

Odd, Submissions, , , ,

I hate overnight road trips. They’re always the same, just following a thin white broken line that stretches on forever in a blackened landscape. It draws you into the centre where darkness encroaches from the sides until…

BLOODY HELL! If I didn’t swerve that truck would have got me tonight.

Connell Wayne Regner had successfully avoided writing creatively since he wrote spontaneous lyrics to music many years ago. Although from a linguistic background, he has serendipitously succumbed to fiction after spontaneously creating bedtime stories for his children. His other dabblings can be found at paragraphplanet and wtdmagazine.wordpress.com.

 

Competitive Sleeping

Amusing, ,

“Among the demonstration events at these 2012 Olympic Games is Sleep Endurance: our two remaining competitors are nearly 48 hours beyond the previous world record.”

“That’s right, Jim. Wait, the referee’s signalling… It’s over! It seems the Brazilian competitor has died. ‘Snorebox’ Jones wins the gold! Let’s go awaken him.”

This story was based on a title suggested by @MetalTeeth9.

The Consequences of Sleeping on the Job

Amusing, , , ,

Check the news, honey. Apparently something crazy happened at work today. I was napping in a storage room. (Hey, I earn my siestas!) The guys didn’t give me many details. When I woke up they said it was over already.

Haircut? What haircut? Why are you laughing? Did someone…?

Argh.