The Brass Mechanism
By Jamie F. Bell
A cluttered, dusty aisle in an old antique shop in Winnipeg, filled with random historical debris.
Explore Our Magical Realism Short Stories
8 Stories
The Omni-Box Sings
By Jamie F. Bell
The air in Agnes’s fifth-floor apartment hung thick with the smell of stale synth-coffee and the faint tang of overused circuits. Dust motes, tiny specks of the city’s endless particulate matter, danced in the anemic light filtering through the grimy window-panes. She sat hunched over her Omni-Box, a relic of a bygone era, its battered casing humming a discordant tune that grated on her nerves, a sound as persistent and unwelcome as the young man currently knocking at her door.
An Unsettling Hum and the Porcelain Owl
By Eva Suluk
The kitchen, shrouded in the bruised light of a January morning, feels colder than usual. Agnes, 78, stands by the counter, a chipped mug waiting for its tea, as a faint, unsettling hum begins to emanate from an unexpected source: a porcelain owl on a dusty shelf.
Algorithm in the Reeds
By Jamie F. Bell
In the recently refurbished community hall, still bearing the faint scars of a past flood, the air is thick with the scent of damp wood and old coffee. A routine board meeting takes an unexpected turn as the director reveals the 'arts collective' is, in fact, an intricate AI research initiative, throwing the small, tight-knit group into disarray.
A Glitch in the Northern Fabric
By Jamie F. Bell
The community hall, a patchwork of old lumber and new insulation, shivered against the bite of the late autumn wind. Dust motes danced in the anemic light filtering through the high windows, illuminating the mismatched chairs pulled around a scarred pine table. The air was thick with the scent of lukewarm coffee and the lingering dampness of a building that had seen too many seasons. Outside, the early evening was already a deep, bruised purple, hinting at the aurora that would soon sweep the sky.
The Glacial Unveiling
By Jamie F. Bell
The old community hall smelled faintly of damp wool and stale coffee, a scent that clung to the worn linoleum and the plastic chairs arranged in a loose circle. Outside, the early winter night was already a profound, inky black, only occasionally broken by the distant, spectral shimmer of the northern lights, a constant reminder of how far north they truly were. Inside, the fluorescent lights hummed with a low, insistent buzz, casting a harsh, unyielding glow on the faces around the table, a stark contrast to the soft, shifting sky beyond the frost-rimmed windows.
The Recursive Glimmer in the Hall
By Jamie F. Bell
The community hall, a patchwork of old timbers and new drywall, felt unnervingly cold despite the whirring space heaters. Outside, the perpetual twilight of a Northwestern Ontario winter pressed against the windows, a blue-grey hush over snow-laden pines. Inside, a low murmur of conversation hung heavy, spiced with stale coffee and a faint, lingering smell of paint from the recent flood repairs.
The Aridity of Apathy
By Tony Eetak
On a sweltering summer afternoon in what was once a bustling urban park, three elderly acquaintances—a retired ambassador, a pragmatic architect, and a contemplative horticulturist—sit under the sparse shade of a wilting oak, discussing the palpable decline of societal kindness amidst pervasive political polarization. The air itself feels heavy and unyielding, mirroring the social climate.