Julia Abelsohn

“Intimate Strangers” by Julia Abelsohn

Submitted to Contest #127

It was a morning like any other. After pushing the snooze button twice, I got out of bed and jumped into the shower. I let the steam and warm soapy water bring me back to life and even splurged on a couple of drops of lavender to wake up my senses. I got a fresh towel from the rack and lavished my dry skin with some rose fragranced olive oil. I brushed my teeth and applied moisturizer to my face. It was a morning like any other, but no amount of lavender oil or rose cream could relieve me of this feeling that something dark was brewing.&nbsp...

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“Carol Alone” by Julia Abelsohn

Submitted to Contest #112

There’s no easy way to say this – I think I’m dead. I know I tend to be a pessimist – glass half empty or whatever – but I do think that I’ve passed on to the other side. It’s because I’m having difficulty moving my legs. I’m trying to move my left leg and then my right leg but nothing doing – just not happening. Then again, maybe I’m just paralyzed – that’s seeing the glass half full, isn’t it? Perhaps I’m morphing into becoming an optimist. That would be a switch after my 50 plus years on the planet. They say that you come into the world w...

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“Intimate Strangers” by Julia Abelsohn

Submitted to Contest #96

The weather warning came in the morning when I was preparing to drive into the city, so at the last minute, I decided to take the bus. It wasn’t my idea, but my friend Pearl was very persuasive.  “Buses are slower but they are safer when there’s snow because their visibility is so much better,” Pearl encouraged. “I don’t like the thought of you white-knuckling it down the highway for hours.”  I didn’t much like that idea either but the thought of travelling on a crowded bus, inching its way through every small town on the way t...

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“Refugee” by Julia Abelsohn

Submitted to Contest #95

No matter how many times I poured over the details of our fifteen-year marriage I couldn’t detect the first signs of decay. It had been a gradual fraying away at the edges of a tapestry that we had stitched together, piece by piece, child by child, mortgage by mortgage. Now, it’s those very same pieces that are being dismantled, categorized and evaluated. How to put a value on family? Eventually, it’s all about money and power – who gets the Mercedes and who decides whether or not the kids are going to go to French immersion?  There i...

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“Winter Fire” by Julia Abelsohn

The snow is very deep so we park the car by the road and walk the rest of the way. The laneway is long and we see far in the distance, the faint orange glow of the lantern light.  As we get closer, I see two figures – she is short and quick and is carrying a big bag over her shoulder. The midwife. He is standing in the doorway, dressed all in black.  “She’s inside; follow me,” he says.  We stomp the snow from our boots. He is holding the lantern about his head and I look up into his eyes. There is a sweet smell of bread,...

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“Prom Queens” by Julia Abelsohn

Submitted to Contest #91

We aren’t making that much noise but Ms Pritchard is giving us the evil eye from across the room.  “I think she’s going to come over here any minute,” says Janie. “If looks could kill.”  But it is hard to contain our excitement. Dave asked Janie to prom and Steven invited me so we are discussing the details in hushed whispers but now and then a squeal erupts from Janie. After the last one, I was sure that Ms Pritchard would come storming over to our table and sure enough, she is over like a shot.  “What on earth are you ...

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“Pandemic Bliss” by Julia Abelsohn

Submitted to Contest #90

The train is so crowded it’s hard to believe that we are still in the midst of a pandemic. The mask-wearing people are all engrossed in their electronic devices and hardly making any eye contact at all so other than the noise of the train, it’s quiet. It’s hard to communicate with the masks on and if you want to be heard over the din of the train you have to shout which is not considered socially acceptable now at all.  I’m traveling home to visit my father. When my mother phoned yesterday to tell me that he’d had a fall, I was worrie...

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“The Other Side of the Glass” by Julia Abelsohn

Submitted to Contest #89

The call comes in the middle of a busy afternoon while he is catching up on some paperwork. Deep in thought, the phone vibrates and makes him jump, knocking it onto the floor.   “Hello, hello, Dr. Levine speaking. I’m sorry about that…” “Hello, Dr. Levine, it’s Staff Sergeant Walter McClure speaking. Are you in any way related to a Maya Gordon? She had your number in her wallet. “  Adam feels the room grow cold.  “Dr. Levine, are you still there?”  “Yes,” answers Adam weakly. He feels like he is deep down i...

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“Queer as Folk” by Julia Abelsohn

Submitted to Contest #88

When they moved into the neighborhood you could see it right away. Even as the moving van was unloading their furniture and boxes from the truck you somehow got a sense that this family was not like the other families on the street. For one thing they were actually using a moving company to do their labour. Most of the others had done the heavy lifting themselves after borrowing some distant cousin or other’s truck for the job and getting a couple of buddies to help out while plying them with liquid refreshments. This move was executed in a ...

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“A Cup of Courage” by Julia Abelsohn

Submitted to Contest #87

They were deep into the woods when he asked her the question. “What’s the most terrifying thing that you’ve ever done?”  Stella had no answer for this of course as she had led a quiet life, a sensible life lacking adventure but replete with duty and obligation. Why even the very thought of going on an Internet dating site had almost been an edge that she was far too cautious to put herself on but something had pushed her, well maybe even pulled her to do it. Perhaps it was Delia’s death that had caused the world to tilt on a different...

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“Another Season” by Julia Abelsohn

Submitted to Contest #86

Marnie opens the blinds and the sunshine is so dazzling that she has to shield her eyes. There hasn’t been much sun for months and as she looks outside she sees the ravages of winter in the garden. The lavender looks like it might not bounce back this year and there are no signs of the tulips yet. She wonders how many of them will make it as the squirrels were extra tenacious last fall. Still, there might be a few hardy ones that survived and Marnie says a little silent prayer for their welfare.  It was Claire that had the natural fla...

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“Love In The Time Of COVID: A tale of obsession ” by Julia Abelsohn

Submitted to Contest #85

It was during the time of COVID and the world had turned upside down. He used to love this city but now it just seemed like a massive petri dish breeding the virus and spewing it out through the hot air vents and percolating it inside lungs hidden from view. So many offices were dark and abandoned now, their polished lobby floors the delight of the cleaners that could admire their handiwork without the mobs of boots splashing their trails of salty, grimy snow across them The streets were also mostly empty and there was nowhere to hide...

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