Ray Paltoo

“A Special Christmas ” by Ray Paltoo

Submitted to Contest #283

A special Christmas ServiceByRaymond PaltooI slowly moved from the realms of sleep to the reality of my soft, warm blankets. The old alarm clock at my bedside was still ringing, and I quickly placed one hand over it to shut off the ringer lest the noise awaken my two roommates. We were college students sharing a basement apartment, the smallest and most distant bedroom from the entrance being mine. Through the haze of a too-early rising, I realized that it was Christmas morning, and there was a reason that I had set the alarm. I had planned ...

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“Strange Dreams” by Ray Paltoo

Strange Dreams By Raymond Paltoo—4-11-19 There was noise in the backyard! It was early in the morning when the sun had not yet greeted the day, but the night sky was lightening in anticipation of that event. Being a light sleeper, I am generally sensitive to any abnormal sounds, and I swung my legs over the side of the bed to see what it was. At first, I thought it might be some animal foraging through our trash bins and being very clumsy about it. Animals are usually sneakily silent. After all, their very lives depend on it. I crept to the...

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“Goodbye and Hello again” by Ray Paltoo

Submitted to Contest #216

Goodbye And Hello Again By Raymond Paltoo ----3-31-2020 She had selected a corner table in a little café in East Montreal for our rendezvous. She had always been the organizer in our family, and I suspected that it was a deliberate move calculated to remind me of the times and the places where we had met and had fun. We had shared ten years and three children before she announced that she was going to Europe to find herself. Being a wife and mother was not her thing, as she had casually informed me while the taxi waited outside our home to ...

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“Farmer's son” by Ray Paltoo

Farmer’s Son By                       Raymond Paltoo     5-22-19 From the dim recesses of the back of the saloon, I watched the stranger walk through the swinging bat-winged doors.  He paused for a moment, allowing his eyes to adjust from the glare of the noonday sun to the dimly lit confines of the saloon.  It was just a small-town saloon, like all the saloons I had been to in the last few years.  ...

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“Tension” by Ray Paltoo

Tension By Raymond Paltoo 01-05-2020 The door banged shut behind the last customer as he cautiously entered the night, leaving the haven of warmth and light for the wintry pavement gleaming in the uncertain lights of the deserted street. The snow had begun to fall, and the flurries drifting hazily across the yellow street lights made the night seem even colder. Gerda looked at her watch again. Tony was an hour late. She had stayed on, hoping against hope that he would show up. She had to face the brutal truth now; that he was no longer inter...

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“Someone like you” by Ray Paltoo

Submitted to Contest #183

Someone like you By Raymond Paltoo Life was perfect, he reflected, watching the two children playing in the sandbox. There were other children in the playground of course, but for him, there existed only the two who belonged to him. The boy was four and the girl had just turned three. At the moment they were completely absorbed in their tasks. His daughter’s face was a study in concentration as she made her sand pies. His son was revving up his toy trucks with all his force up and down the little sand hills he had constructed, enjoying the...

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