Philip Baker

“The Cabaret Girl” by Philip Baker

No words could describe the period of the last three months I had been through and if you would ask me to explain any of it, you would find me mostly stumbling in words trying to justify the unjustifiable and seeking a single thread when the whole fabric of reality was nothing but a tangled knot. Nothing felt real to me in it or tangible and most above all the path I was marching on that seemed like a tightrope I had to find a way to balance on, and unfortunately, there was nothing to prepare the ground for what was to come as I plunged righ...

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“A Simple Misunderstanding” by Philip Baker

Submitted to Contest #105

"I'm only trying to understand better what bothered you," I intoned in a soft voice. "Can we just go through it one more time?" That was my standard approach every time I would do something to anger her. Not that I really understood ever what were the real reasons for her outrage when they would happen. Somehow I would always have the feeling that what bothered Claire had nothing to do with what she claimed to be and the actual cause was always lost somewhere in between the lines. "There is no reason for it. Just leave it alone. It's fine....

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“The Sidekick” by Philip Baker

Submitted to Contest #105

From the moment someone was to meet Gavin, he could understand that something was strange with the guy. Of course strange doesn't mean that he was the weird kind of strange, or dumb for that matter. He was actually quite a brilliant character and an observant personality for what is worth it. From the moment I stepped into his office, in Cardon street, relying just a few minutes away from our house in the neighborhood, he pulled out some Sherlock Holmes tricks on me and made some accurate descriptions on my behalf that weren't quite obvious ...

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“The Journal” by Philip Baker

Submitted to Contest #104

Back a few years ago, when I was in college, I became good friends with a girl named Stella, that was one of the most popular students in the whole facility. How this happened nobody really knows, and I still have doubts about how it came to be, as in general, I'm one of the most introverted persons one could meet.  If you were to attend a party where I was participating in, you would find me usually distantiated in some corner, drinking awkwardly his drink in utter reticence and most often than not I would be the last person you would...

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“In Reminiscence” by Philip Baker

Submitted to Contest #102

When the flood hit our land for the first time in Penrith, people stood stunned in front of the spectacle not being able to believe their eyes. And then the rain continued on for 3 days straight, like being retribution from God and the crops were thoroughly destroyed, leaving the whole village out of stock for the whole season, coming up to a task we had never faced before.  Everybody in the community was highly dependent on his farm including most of the members of my family, my father Andrew, and my grandfather who were both the main...

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“In Just One Day” by Philip Baker

Submitted to Contest #99

Under the protection of the slanted rainbow umbrella, rooted inside the infinitesimal grain of the sand that was light enough for the wind to blow around as he pleased, there stood Alice over a blue-white striped deck-chair with wooden frame in the color of the beach and tenuous hair carefully skewed in her face to hide the strong reflection of the sunlight.  She had planned this trip months ago for the summer, with her boyfriend Michael who was lying with his sunglasses on, right next to her and she had finally managed to get the much...

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“A Dismal Pattern” by Philip Baker

Submitted to Contest #98

"It may sound superstitious," said the first man, "but every year, in the exact same period, something terrible happens. I'm telling you, I have seen it far too many times to fall for it again". His name was Mark and he was sitting in the far end of the white sofa, in a luminous cafe, filled with yellow warm light and low humming tones playing in the background, that would make the wooden walls vibrate with their low tone. Mark was a tall, lanky guy, with exceptionally large arms like a spider and a comely face and he was standing in full co...

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“A Window of Opportunity” by Philip Baker

Submitted to Contest #97

"Excuse me, sir. Would you mind giving me some room?" exclaimed the man behind the wheels of his car. "It's obvious that two cars cannot be contained at the same time in a single slot. Don't you think?" The man in the second car, inside a shabby, old, white ford recoiled at the comment and leaned his head out of the window revealing an expression of disbelief blended with a dose of utter disgust. "Well, excuse me, sir" he replied in an edgy tone, "but if I remember correctly I entered this slot first. That means that by the time you arrive...

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“Through The Window” by Philip Baker

"Andrew, I know what you're thinking." said the woman pointing at her surrounding. "This all took a long time to built. Giving some of it away seems like a ripoff. Like a trick made to deceit you and take away what you created. I get it, OK? I really do." The woman, whose name was Nora, stood imposingly in front of the man who was sitting behind his desk, with her legs wide apart, shifting her weight mostly in one side as they protruded beyond her skirt that reached a couple of inches above her knee. Her two feet stood comely and voluptuous...

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“The Stranger” by Philip Baker

Submitted to Contest #96

"It's one more route to go." yelled the old man. "Then we seal the stack and we are off to the house once again." "We need to move the lumber inside as well. Or the rain is going to spoil it." said the young man. "You just wait here and make sure you tie these together in piles. I'll make sure to bring the rest to you in batches."  The young man whose name was Ethan, run outside in the rainfall with a sudden leap, and the old man scoffed with his hand for being unable to stop him. The rain was already strong in the area, turning from ...

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“A Night of Full Moon” by Philip Baker

Submitted to Contest #94

"Guys we need to make sure that we have a nice greyish black before we start." said the man standing in front of the blackboard. "We obviously want to begin with the most important element of the picture so, can anyone guess what that might be in our case?" "It's the elephant Mr. Smith" yelled the girl in the front row raising her hand straight up in the air. "That is correct, young lady. We start with the elephant. Leave the trees for later and the water as the last part. We want to make sure we focus on the most prominent thing first bef...

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“The Fool” by Philip Baker

Submitted to Contest #89

"This old sack is not good anymore," said the man. "I can feel the bedsteads crack every time I make a move." "Maybe we should change the props beneath it then. Or move you to a new one altogether." "Nah that wouldn't be necessary. Too much fuss for too little reason." The woman was taken aback by the comment but tried to conceal her surprise as she was so used in doing so in his presence. She instead smiled mildly and ducked in the side of the bed as she tapped the man with her hand and spoke softly. "Now don't talk like that. I wou...

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“The Request” by Philip Baker

Submitted to Contest #76

«If there is one thing I know for sure, it's that Robert would have repudiated all of them. There was not a single person that he trusted while he was alive and that was for a good reason.» She stood up and sat over the sofa-stool, right next to the man as she griped her finger like a multi-hook lock and continued. «At least he didn't have to face the people he worked with every single day, plunging like animals to capitalize on everything he created and see what they were really made of. These hideous people... nobody could anticipate ...

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“The Bird” by Philip Baker

Submitted to Contest #73

«I think something is wrong with it,» exclaimed Owen over the phone. «I mean this thing doesn't move, doesn't talk, doesn't eat. It's like a zombie bird that stands on a corner and doesn't give a shit about anything.»He was stooped down as he was scrutinizing the little parrot, seating in his white cage with the dark-wooden sticks piercing its body like a piece of jungle that had been cut out of the forest and moved untouched within civilization. The branches were bumpy and surged with streams of fluid lines as if they had water inside them ...

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“The Golden Watch” by Philip Baker

Submitted to Contest #71

«Are you sure the voting process is a good idea?» asked Jenny. «Maybe it gets a bit too competitive. You know, for the holiday spirit I mean,» «You are not scared, are you?» I say teasingly, causing a little gasp of air to stack over her neck as she touches her sternum with her hand. «You could always skip it if you don't want to bother with it, but then you won't be able to participate in the game either. Sorry, it's how the rules go,» I say as I observe her leaning her head on the back and folding her hands over her chest with clear disa...

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