Break From Reality. Daily.
The sold sign swayed in the breeze. ‘So, this is it,’ Sam mused. The only instruction she’d given him was that it was the house with the sold sign, no number. High hedges surrounded the rusted cast-iron gate, and there was indeed no number. Sam forced open the rusted gate, its ornate grill grazing his…
This story is by Scarlett Boleyn and was part of our 2025 Fall Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. As soon as they returned, sweating and panting from their morning run, she saw it. Stark white against the black wrought iron art déco patterning of the screen door. A large envelope…
This story is by Scarlett Boleyn and was part of our 2024 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. Everyone has secrets. How far they’ll go to protect them is the ultimate litmus test. I should know, as a psychologist I’m something of a professional keeper of secrets. The trouble with…
This story is by Scarlett Boleyn and was part of our 2022 Fall Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. A damaged tombstone breaks my fall. All that’s legible on its weathered pink marble is the date – 1922. Dragging myself up on its rough edges my fears are realised as I…
This story is by Scarlett Boleyn and was part of our 2022 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. ‘What would you do if you weren’t afraid?’ Alistair’s last words echo in my head. My big brother, seven years my senior and my self-appointed mentor, protector and mirror of my…
This story is by Scarlett Boleyn and was part of our 10th Anniversary Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. So there is an after story, mused Sasha. She examined the card attached to the recently laid single orchid on the grave and lashed out with her boot, kicking the border….
This story is by Scarlett Boleyn and was part of our 2021 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. A fierce bolt of lightening bleaches the cobblestone path momentarily white, illuminating a man approaching from behind her. Seeing his reflection in the cracked carousel mirror, Esme startles, dropping the scarlet…
This story is by Scarlett Boleyn and was part of our 2020 Fall Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. “Madelyn? Stood up, again?” Madelyn flushed as the barman placed a glass of her favorite Pinot Gris in front of her. “Here, it’s on the house.” She felt the goose bumps…
This story is by Scarlett Boleyn and was part of our 2020 Summer Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. Bullets ricochet outside, jolting Eliza out of dreamless sleep and into her real-life nightmare, triggering a slow-motion sense of catastrophe. Shivering, she imagines the horror transpiring in real-time on the opposite…
This story is by Scarlett Boleyn and was part of our 2019 Summer Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. As the high-security airlock doors whine, seal and deadlock behind her with an ominous thump, Amelie feels the weight of possibility and fear in equal measure. They’ve tried everything else. Bribes,…
