Author: stephenhemmer

I am a diabetic who is teaching English in Japan. I write speculative fiction and post the really short and sweet stuff here.

The Arrhenius Cask

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You know me. I’ve always been able to take a slight on the chin. I dealt with Felicity’s constant abuses and badgering for years, but after that insult…well even a saint can only take so much. So I had to resolve this in a way that both satisfied my need for resolution but also didn’t risk my name. To be clear, Felicity had no idea I was angry with her back then. That whole month leading up to my plan, I was kinder than I had ever been before. 

But Felicity had two weaknesses. Despite being quite charming, and rather manipulative, she was as much convinced of her genius as she was, in truth, an idiot. She considered herself an absolute expert on the whole freezing process, but hadn’t made a single breakthrough under her own merits. To be fair, she could recite the effects of any chemical, ingested or injected. In that sense we were similarly well-read. 

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Mother May I

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Molly entered the kitchen to see Michael already awake and cooking breakfast. “You’re late! Mother will be home soon.” He paused and changed his tone to something more pleading. “Please help.”

“I was still asleep.”

“I would love to sleep in too!” said Michael, losing the softer tone he had before. 

Molly’s eyes flickered to the patches on his skin and quickly walked into the room to help him. “What do you need from me?”

“Could you see if the milk is still good?”

Molly ran to the fridge and opened it. The hinges groaned open and a sweet smell filled the room. “I hate this thing.”

“She tried her best, now hurry up and help.” Michael continued to chop up a carrot, shaking the entire time.

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Brewed Awakenings Excerpt 4

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Still working on the first draft of Brewed Awakenings. I will return to posting short stories January 15th. Until then, please enjoy these humorous excerpts from my novel about coffee that makes people disappear.

Eyes are the windows to the soul. This phrase is what we call a metaphor. Eyes are not literally the windows to the soul, as they don’t actually show you the inside of a soul, or allow a soul to see outside the body. However, metaphorically, they do allow others to see what you are thinking and feeling, and therefore get a brief glimpse into the inner workings of your mind.

Buildings actually have windows, and in a way, they function as the eyes of the structure. This is also a metaphor. If you look to the windows you can see what is going on inside, just like you can get a glimpse of what is going on inside someone’s soul through peering into their eyes.

Buildings actually function a lot like people, beyond just the unsettling similarities between eyes and windows, peering and watching.

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Brewed Awakenings Excerpt 3

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Still working on the first draft of Brewed Awakenings. I will return to posting short stories January 15th. Until then, please enjoy these humorous excerpts from my novel about coffee that makes people disappear.

Libraries are one of the greatest inventions of mankind, and I am counting all inventions that have so far been invented, including the interrogation skeleton patented by Helene Adelaide Shelby in 1927. It was a ghastly invention that made a skeleton appear to form out of thin air in an interrogation room, in order to scare confessions out of criminals. While not very practical, it definitely gains points for style.

So even with inventions like that, the library is definitely one of the best. A library is a a building, or maybe a section of a building, that contains many many books on a variety of subjects and topics. These books are usually organized in such a way that it makes it easier to find a book that you are looking for. Originally this was done by organizing books into categories, and then by using little cards to show which section any given book might be in. Now, at the front of the Toledo library there are several computers where you can type in a book in order to find where it would be placed. There are also several librarians in each library, who, although they contain frightening power and immense superhuman strength, they are actually quite helpful and friendly.

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Brewed Awakenings Excerpt 2

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As I said, no stories for November. I’m still working on my novel Brewed Awakenings and haven’t had time to bust out a short story, so instead, you get an excerpt from the novel I’m working on.

The novel is about Eric and Naomi, two best friends and recent college grads trying to figure out why people keep literally disappearing after drinking Eric’s coffee. It wears its Nightvale and A Series of Unfortunate Events inspirations on its sleeves. Without further ado, here is the beginning of chapter 4.

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Brewed Awakenings Excerpt

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No stories for November. I’ve been working on my novel Brewed Awakenings and haven’t had time to bust out a short story, so instead, you get an excerpt from the novel I’m working on.

The novel is about Eric and Naomi, two best friends and recent college grads trying to figure out why people keep literally disappearing after drinking Eric’s coffee. It wears its Nightvale and A Series of Unfortunate Events inspirations on its sleeves. Without further ado, here is the beginning of chapter 2.

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Gripped

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Oscar returned the clipboard with all of his medical information to the front desk. He wasn’t quite sure if the family medical history part was right, his mom’s side was a bit distant. He sat down in a plastic chair with a thin cloth cushion and then pulled out a small bottle of ibuprofen. 200 grams each, he popped two pills and dry swallowed them, only afterwards noticing that the other sides waiting area had a vending machine. But it was fine. It had to be fine. It would be fine. He checked the clock. Only a single minute passed. He continued to stare at it for what felt like half an hour, and the clock only ticked 5 more times.

A woman in the waiting room forced a cough, and Oscar looked at her. She motioned downward. He looked down and saw he was bouncing his leg. Probably too much. 

“Oscar Soto, please come to the front desk.” The intercom shocked Oscar with its volume and he gripped his chest. 

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The Elf Knight

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Sage nervously picked at his knuckles as he looked up the stairs, but he took the first step anyway.

Rosemary peaked around the corner of the hallway and asked, “You sure now is a good time?” Her long ears pointed flat, suggesting disapproval.

“I, I need to see Parsley. Ask him a question.” Sage spoke with a slight shake in his voice. “I really don’t want to wait.”

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By A Thread

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TW: Depression

The only light in Nick’s apartment was his computer screen, which flickered through several shades and colors as he skimmed his daily feeds. There were Christmas lights that he hung up around his windows, but those burnt out a couple months ago and he never got around to changing them. He thought about unplugging them, but he didn’t want to get out of his chair, not right now, not yet.

He clicked and clicked and clicked, with the light glinting off of the mess he had on his desk. A red glow bounced off the off white old Chinese food box, and then a blue shade hit several empty soda bottles. A white glow lit up his vitamins, still sealed and fresh as they day he bought them. But just beyond the light were some drawing supplies covered in a thin yet consistent layer of dust. 

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Hoof Prints

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On the drive to my new home, I realized that somewhere along the way I lost a button. It wasn’t a jacket button. I would have noticed that earlier, when the wind was stronger and we were packing the boxes into the car. No, it was a button that I found out in the woods one day. It was small, wooden, and had several nicks in it. I sewed the button into the shoulder of my jacket once I found it. My mom always says I’m a bit of a goblin, always picking up and collecting everything I can find.

“Honey, are you okay back there? You’ve gotten a little quiet.” My mom didn’t know about this button specifically, but she quickly realized I was upset by something.

“I’m okay, just thinking about things.”

“You missing the old place already?”

“Sort of, but I’ll be okay. I swear.” I answered her as honestly as I knew how to. I didn’t know how to explain to her about how it all was connected together.

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