Monsters are not real, Allen. They are figments of our imagination. It was on this belief that Allen MacLean built his life, becoming a costume maker whose business thrived especially during Halloween.

On Monday evening, the second floor of Meridian Capital building was empty except for the hum of servers and air-conditioners, and the glow from Helen Croft's computer screen. Dandy Pratts came back for

Dr. Mitch Wren, fifty-three and unmarried, was devoted to books more than to anything or anyone else. As chief librarian, he spent most of his days at the Bond Street Library, a place that felt more like

When Kayla's aunt told her she would be staying with another aunt she'd never met for a few weeks, she knew her ‘weirdness’ had become too much for Aunt Audrey to bear. It was always the same: a new home,

I woke up that morning with a feeling that my life was about to take a turn. Whether for better or worse, I didn't know but I kept my fingers crossed as I met my good friend Aria who volunteered every

Laura drove way below speed limit on a Sunday morning alone, coffee in hand, her eyes scanning the quiet road as she steered the car to her father's house. Her phone buzzed in her bag for the fourth time

The night our mother died, her bracelet watch was gone from her wrist. It was a thin gold band with a cracked clasp that she fixed with a bent paperclip. She engraved on the back the date we arrived Lagos

When Thun had texted him his house address months ago, Cronus had saved it without thinking even though his strange classmate had said he didn't entertain visitors. Cronus had smirked at that. What teenage

At Merryridge High School, Hannah's three friends lived different lives from hers. She dropped her bag in the locker, and armed with her paper bag lunch, she walked into the lunch hall and witnessed an

Welma looked forward to driving home from work with Laura every Tuesday and Thursday. Those were the days Laura closed at 6 p.m., same time as her. It took twenty-two minutes if the bridge was clear and

Just one tiny click and then a black screen reflected Harry's horrified face. His laptop died at 2:13 on a Thursday afternoon forty-seven minutes before a deadline that was supposed to cover his rent.

Sipping my hot herbal tea, I squinted at my phone screen. My dating bio said “single but not available” and I nodded in satisfaction. I wrote it at 11 p.m. on a Sunday which is the only hour I had ever

On a gloomy day, the widow buried her three sons beneath the first rows of the orchard she had planted. She had begged the village head and elders for justice for her sons but no one listened. When she

“You know it's okay to miss her,” Bridgette René, my mother's best friend, said softly, a slight smile touching her lips as her eyes searched mine. I tore my gaze away from hers and nodded at an unfamiliar

What if our world was monochrome and we saw in only black and white, no other colours? I had asked a friend this question in high school and he had jokingly hinted that there might be something a little

I thought I was having a bad day until I met Laura at the restaurant across the street from my office. As I entered the five-star restaurant, I exhaled and pinched the bridge of my nose to hold back the

It takes me about fifteen minutes, give or take, to drive home from work. Today, I arrive within eight minutes. Yes, I am meticulous like that; every second of my life counts. You may wonder why I drive

From behind a tree some distance away, Chioma watched the open window of the maid’s room at the back of the mansion. She frowned. It was the same room she stayed in throughout her teenage years working

Daniel hid behind a car parked away from Saint Monica's, his curly black hair sticking out from behind it, the only evidence that he was there. Sister Janice stood outside the main entrance, smiling politely

It was dawn and the air smelled of damp moss and something faintly sweet and calming. Dahlya stood at the edge of the wood, her brows furrowed as she admired the dewy leaves on a big old oak tree. It was