The young post-doctoral fellow at the podium began her speech to the audience assembled in the lecture hall.

"We had discovered a ray that apparently traveled faster than light -- specifically at ten times the speed of light. Our experiment was motivated to verify the ray's existence and speed, and test the physical and logical consequences.

Cover art by Erin Halfelven
©2026, SammyC

House Spouse
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

I worked alongside Matt Linaker for three years. I had no idea that he was anything other than a normal guy. I knew that he was married, so the fact that he had a slightly effeminate appearance I simply put down to “metrosexuality”.

Chapter 18, October 11th, 2025

“Why are we doing this again?” Whit asked after he shifted the Jeep into park.

Lucy frowned, “It’s supper Darren, we need to eat.”

Whit rolled his eyes, “You know what I mean, we’ve been together for a long time, and this is the first time I think you’ve ever invited someone, besides our parents, out to eat with us.”

A Grumpy Old Man’s Tale 68 Dancing Spanners
Continued in the best side of the Green Dragon Inn from GOM 67

“Some point today would be good,” Luke yelled through the closed door, growing increasingly exasperated by his sister's procrastination.

“Just a sec, I’m nearly there,” Lucy replied as she looked at her reflection in her mirror.

Chapter 6

The thing that was disastrous for everyone was that the country was put into another lock-down from the first week of January. This time it was as restrictive as the worst of last year. This was getting very tiresome.

Chapter Four – The Other Vessels

The night following Aphrosia’s revelation was not a night at all. Yet as midnight approached, a sense of unreality settled over the world—an uncanny pause before something immense. People stepped outside, drawn by a pressure in the air, a hush that made even city traffic seem to hold its breath. It was as if the earth itself knew change had arrived.

Chapter 26 – Official Debrief and Relaxation

Morning cycle aboard the Queen’s Rage came painfully early. The aftereffects of last night's celebration clung to the air—dry mouths, pounding temples, and the unmistakable weight of regret shared by half the crew.

As the car turned off the lane leading to Niamh’s house, and onto the road towards ours, I saw the security light outside our house come on. My heart sank: This could only mean one thing; my father had just driven or walked into the farmyard. For some reason, this was a much more troubling prospect than been seen by my mother wearing one of the Twins cheerleading skirts. She had, presumably been given an explanation by Niamh so would have expected to find me dressed like this when she called to collect me.

“Does he know?”

Part 40

By the time Chris and Amy stepped up to the counter, the young woman behind the register was nearly done scanning the pile that the girls had brought to her in multiple rounds. “Quite the shopping spree,” she commented, “Did you find everything you were looking for?”

And then some. Chris just forced a small smile and said, “I hear there’s a discount with the store credit card?”

The Beer Festival
A Vignette
By Maryanne Peters

Karl and I come from a small town in Germany – in Bavaria, close to the Alps. We have lived there all our lives. We went to school together and we became friends. Then we became more than friends – we became lovers. And then more than lovers – we moved in together, as a gay couple.

Beer, Barbecue, and Bikes, Richmond Fair Grounds, 315 Community Park Dr, Warsaw, VA.

Jessie couldn’t believe that Peter Barton and their current manager managed to get them a gig playing at the fairgrounds during one of the biggest events during Spring. Their manager had managed to get the organizers to agree to her idea of riding their motorcycles up onto the stage. All of them practice the stunt to make sure they did it right.

“How much did you know about your mom’s plans?”

Pete’s Vagina
80. In the Zone
By Erin Halfelven

“Calm down, Dido,” said John, who was surprised at her outburst.

Dido showed no signs of doing as he wanted.
“Calm down and tell me why you think that they didn’t believe a word?”

The Green-Eyed Maid Inn

“Nonsense,” Karen spoke up as she approached us now, having photographed me at least half a dozen times from different angles beforehand. “Anyone can be trained how to stand, walk, smile, pout, but a natural team player is worth double her weight in gold.”

Voice
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

My life changed when I was twelve. Up until that time I was just a normal boy. I played ball, I climbed trees, I caroused with my friends, we got dirty, and sometimes into trouble. I was entirely normal except for one thing – I had a talent.

"I spent half an hour picking out what I’d wear..."

Another Country -11-
by Erin Halfelven