Stains
By Leaf Richards
Jeff and Sam are stuck in a drafty, under-heated community center basement late at night, trying to set up for a local art showcase while debating the merits of staying in a small northern town.
Explore Our Slice of Life Short Stories
20 Stories
The Chill of Disconnection
By Eva Suluk
Andrew, a man in his late thirties, is commuting home through a frigid, darkening city in early 2025. The air is thick with the promise of more snow. His usual route is fraught with minor acts of hostility and disengagement, each chipping away at his sense of well-being. He carries a dull weight of anxiety, a constant companion in this new, colder world.
Static on the Line
By Jamie F. Bell
Jimmy visits Simon in his converted garage studio during a harsh Northwestern Ontario deep freeze to confront him about a stalled portfolio and their stalled relationship.
Heat Haze
By Leaf Richards
A sweltering afternoon in a cluttered industrial lot where a collaborative art piece has been destroyed.
The Blue Plastic Bag
By Eva Suluk
Leon and Sam fight against a severe drop in temperature while walking home from school, discussing the futility of creative effort in a town focused on survival.
The Silo
By Jamie F. Bell
Three teenagers trespass in an industrial railyard in Northwestern Ontario, 1996, discovering a piece of guerilla art that shouldn't exist.
Green Rust
By Jamie F. Bell
A precarious maintenance ledge on the side of a mega-tower, hidden behind a malfunctioning HVAC unit, where a secret garden struggles against the toxic rain.
The Slide Carousel
By Jamie F. Bell
A dusty, cluttered antique shop in Winnipeg on a hot summer afternoon, where two strangers bond over a vintage slide projector.
The Strange Gravity of Gravy
By Jamie F. Bell
The cafeteria was, as always, a symphony of adolescent chaos: the clatter of trays, the shrill laughter of newly-formed cliques, the low thrum of a thousand whispered secrets. Sunlight, thick and golden from the late autumn afternoon, spilled across the linoleum floor, catching dust motes in its wide, indifferent gaze. A familiar smell of burnt cheese and industrial cleaner hung heavy, a comforting, if unappetising, blanket. Yet, for Frank, the ordinary theatre of lunchtime felt strangely… perforated, as if the reality around them was a film projector skipping frames.
The Lanzhou Feed
By Jamie F. Bell
On a blustery ridge in Northwestern Ontario, Ben and his team struggle to calibrate their VR equipment before the temperature drops further.
Granite and Glitches
By Jamie F. Bell
Three friends haul heavy camera equipment up a steep granite outcrop in the heat of a Northwestern Ontario summer, intending to film a message for their collaborators in China.
The Render Farm
By Jamie F. Bell
A cluttered, repurposed room in a community centre near Borups Corners, filled with the hum of computer fans and the smell of stale coffee and fall dampness.
Plastic Needles in July
By Jamie F. Bell
A suffocatingly hot attic in mid-July, filled with the debris of decades. The air smells of baked insulation and old cardboard.
Pine Pitch and Duct Tape
By Tony Eetak
A living room in late November, besieged by the elements of a premature Christmas. Outside, the autumn wind howls; inside, a man battles a tree.
The Plastic Fir
By Jamie F. Bell
Ben, a man in his seventies, struggles to assemble a fake Christmas tree in his living room on a rainy April afternoon, while his adult son watches with growing concern.
The Glass Apple
By Tony Eetak
Andrew discovers a disturbance in his quiet home—a misplaced Christmas ornament that triggers a surreal deviation from the season.
Winter Data, Spring Plans
By Eva Suluk
The server room, usually a sterile, hushed space, vibrated with a low, rhythmic hum that was almost a comfort in the deep winter cold. Outside, the world was a dull expanse of grey snow and bare branches, but inside, against the pale green glow of status lights, Unit 734 and Unit 902 were meticulously weaving the data threads of Melgund Township’s past year into a comprehensive tapestry. Kyle, the community coordinator, leaned against a rack, the warmth of his chipped ceramic mug a small comfort against the chill that seemed to seep through the building's old foundations. He watched the bots' projected interfaces dance across the wall, a silent ballet of statistics and summaries.
Winter Recollections of Melgund
By Tony Eetak
The community centre, usually bustling with the echoes of children and the smell of old coffee, held a different kind of quiet today. Outside, a fresh layer of snow blanketed Melgund Township, muffling the world. Inside, a low, rhythmic hum pulsed from a corner, drawing little Paul closer.
Winter Reflections, Digital Sparks
By Eva Suluk
The old Melgund Community Centre always held a particular chill in January, a lingering dampness that no amount of heating oil could truly banish. Edna, pulling her wool scarf tighter, shuffled through the main hall, her breath misting slightly. But today, the usual quiet hum of the furnace was accompanied by a different sound: a steady, almost companionable murmur from the main console near the kitchen entrance, where the community’s two resident AI systems, lovingly nicknamed 'Mellie' and 'Gundy' by the local kids, were in one of their programmed 'review' cycles.
Winter Workings of Melgund
By Tony Eetak
The community centre held that particular scent of old wood polish mixed with something vaguely institutional, like weak coffee and dried-out hand sanitizer. Outside, the world was a crisp, biting white, snow clinging to every branch and fence post, but inside, a single, high-pitched hum cut through the quiet, a sound barely audible, yet insistent. It came from the two small, smooth devices resting on the long, scarred table in the corner, objects of endless fascination and slight bewilderment.
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