Ken Miles

“THE FEATHER OF THE BLACK ANGEL” by Ken Miles

Submitted to Contest #197

“Is that blood in the inkwell?”Adolf rolls up his prison pants and shows Rudolf the self-inflicted cuts in his calves. “They wouldn’t give me enough ink for all that’s to be written! So I mixed in my own blood.”He allows Rudolf to gasp, then adds, “Besides, the feather of the Black Angel works best with blood. Here, have a go!”“I’m an aviator not a writer, words don’t come easy to me,” Rudolf’s reluctant to write.“The words won’t come from you, but from the Black Angel!”Rudolf shakes his head. Adolf can be outlandish. But is he now flip...

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“AN ORANGE CAT IN ROME” by Ken Miles

Submitted to Contest #187

AN ORANGE CAT IN ROMEA week’s just too short.Especially when that’s all you’ve got left to live. Tightness grips my throat, like someone’s choking me.Dr. Gottmann places a hand on my shoulder until I feel its warmth penetrating my skin. Doctors don’t usually do that. They’re austere. Scientists. Cold. When they do that, things must be bad. Real bad.My only symptom is this intermittent tingling behind my ears. Otherwise, I'm perfectly fine, with energy to burn. I still sport my teenage mullet, graying as it may now be. I’m not prepared to die...

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“8,000 TIMES A DAY” by Ken Miles

Laura wouldn’t entertain that thought. She just loved Laurie too much. He was all she had. She loved him each time he got near her. Which happened often: some eight-thousand times a day. Each time was like the first time.It was a fleeting form of love. She’d love him and then sort of forgot she did, forgot he even existed. But she soon enough loved him again, within seconds, each time they swam back past each other from the other side of the bowl. The moments of forgetfulness were brief enough, almost negligible. Cosy feelings took hold of h...

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“CLAPTRAP” by Ken Miles

“It’s that one nasty little word in English, that’s the cause of all of our problems! It’s the shortest, tiniest, thinnest, most hatefully disgusting word in our language…” Anone Y. Mous, Jr. rants on, in his typical monotone, his austere face peeking out of every television screen in the country. Whichever channel you switch to, there is always him. On CNN, ABC, CBS... some say, as the running joke goes, that they even see him whenever they open their fridge. Indeed, no-one else these days has attained such a firm presence in everyone’s...

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“ALINA” by Ken Miles

Submitted to Contest #184

“Customer Care. How can I help you, Sir?” She has the perfect voice. And it’s been a while since a woman last spoke to Sinclair.“It’s my kettle... hmm... yes, the kettle...”“What is the problem with your kettle, Sir?”“It doesn’t work. Won’t boil water. It’s the only thing kettles do. And mine won’t do it.”“What’s the model number, Sir?”“Model number?”“We make many kettles, Sir. Some older models have it embossed underneath, others on the side at spout level.”“It’s not on the side. Must be underneath then.”“Can you check for me, Sir?”“Sinclai...

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