Kissing Eternity

Photo by serjan midili on Unsplash

We flourished beside the pool like two happy frogs waiting to take a joyous dip. Lotus flowers floated there atop the becalmed water, like the reflections of perfectly captured stars. A dragonfly, apparently unaware of the twilight, zipped about like an army helicopter, downing as many enemies as his mandibles-for-bullets could bite. A breaching moon threatened one horizon as a submerging sun teased the other. A swan’s neck rose from the reeds like an elegant white snake and then dipped away. The universe hung on her next breath, as did I.

“I love this pool. Don’t you?” she breathed. But my mouth did that thing where some old hag had stitched up my lips, so I just nodded. “There’s something about how it captures everything, from those tiny, stray dandelion seeds to entire eternities. That’s what I think, anyway.” Again, I nodded. “You don’t say much for a man so keen for a date.” I smiled and shrugged. “Meh! Probably for the best. You wouldn’t want to spoil the moment.” As if on queue, she leaned in. I didn’t have to move anything but my lips.

Years later, and the television presenter claimed the police to have found them. All of them. Those dive-bombing children, so obese as to flatten the bullrushes, who had disturbed the pond one last time. They’d stamped on the frogs and stolen the swan’s eggs before they’d even hatched. The presenter looked disgusted, but he was smiling on the inside at the dramatic news story now attached to his name. They were to close the whole area off to ‘re-establish the ecosystem.’ I wanted to cry. It wasn’t that I was an eco-warrior or anything, just that I’d kissed eternity there once, and now I’d never see those stars again.

The End


Thank you for reading

Richard

Richard M. Ankers. Author: The Eternals Series and Britannia Unleashed

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Eventually

Published at MasticadoresUSA

I’m delighted to have my micro-fiction Eventually posted today at MasticadoresUSA. I have written for the Masticadores family of magazines for a while now, and this is my second post with the USA branch of said publications. As always, a very big thank you to editor Barbara Leonhard for trusting in my work.

Again, I hope you enjoy the short read that is Eventually.


Thank you for reading

Richard

Richard M. Ankers

Author of The Eternals Series & Britannia Unleashed

DarkWinter Literary Magazine

Published Today!

I’m delighted to have my short dark fiction ‘Staring at a World Gone By‘ published today at DarkWinter Literary Magazine. A big thank you to editor Suzanne Craig-Whytock for trusting in this melancholy piece about a ghost sat waiting for the one he has lost.

Please do take some time to explore the site and all the many wonderful reads available.

Staring at a World Gone By available: HERE

Thank you for reading

Richard

Richard M. Ankers

Author of The Eternals Series and Britannia Unleashed.

Petal

Published Today!

I’m very pleased to announce that my Gobblers & Masticadores monthly post ‘Petal‘ has just gone live. I hope you have time to read this short fiction, and peruse the latest posts on the site. They’re always good.

A big thank you to editor Manuela Timofte for publishing my work. She’s a gem.

Please click HERE to read.


Thank you as always

Richard

Richard M. Ankers: Author of The Eternals Series and Britannia Unleashed

The Loneliness of Creation

Published at MasticadoresUSA

I’m delighted to have my micro-fiction The Loneliness of Creation posted today at MasticadoresUSA. I have written for the Masticadores family of magazines for a while now, but this is my first with the USA branch of said publications. A very big thank you to editor Barbara Leonhard for trusting in my work.

Again, I hope you enjoy the short read that is The Loneliness of Creation.


Thank you for reading

Richard

Richard M. Ankers

Author of The Eternals Series & Britannia Unleashed

The In-Between

Published Today!

Literary Revelations

It is a great honour to have been published by the fantastic new journal Literary Revelations. My story The In-Between features today on their site.

A big thank you to Editor Gabriela Marie Milton for believing in my work.

Thank you for reading

Richard

Richard M. Ankers

The Last

Spillwords Publication

Today, I’m pleased to announce my third short story for Spillwords.com goes live.

The Last is a short commentary on what might happen if the entity known as Death departs our shores. I hope you enjoy this short read.

Spillwords hosts an incredible array of top quality work, both poetry and prose. There is never a chance of being disappointed if taking the time to peruse their site.

As always, a big thank you to Spillwords for hosting my words and to you all for reading them. I hope you enjoy The Last.


Thank you for reading

Richard

Richard M. Ankers

Author of The Eternals Series

and Britannia Unleashed

Other Autumns

Always a pleasure to write with my best pal. 🙂

Gina Maria Manchego - Author

It is with tremendous honor and gratitude that I’ve been able to write a story with the brilliant, Richard M. Ankers. Special thanks to Lothlorien Poetry Journal for the tremendous opportunity.

https://lothlorienpoetryjournal.blogspot.com/2023/01/other-autumns-flash-fiction-by-gina.html

I do hope you enjoy this magical tale. Thank you for reading. – Gina Maria

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Monthly Post

The Melancholy Divide

Image: Mystic Art Design from Pixabay 

Today is the day the wonderful Manuela Timofte has published my latest post for Gobblers and Masticadores. I hope you can check out The Melancholy Divide as it’s one of those kind of writings I love to pen.

Gobblers and Masticadores are a part of the fantastic Masticadores collection of magazines bursting with quality poetry and prose. Please take a look.


Thank you for reading

Richard

Richard M. Ankers

The Lost and the Dreamers

Photo by Adnan Mistry on Unsplash

Published Today!

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

And what better way to start the new year than with a newly published piece. A great big thank you to Kelly Easton at Compass Rose Literary Journal for making The Lost and the Dreamers their first story of 2023.

Please do take the opportunity to have a look around at the beautifully presented Compass Rose site. There is a wealth of good quality material to peruse.


Thank you for reading

Richard

Once again, a very Happy New Year to you all. And I hope you enjoy The Lost and the Dreamers.

Richard M. Ankers