Surreal Archives - James Kirst Short Story and Novel Blog

Short Story Saturday: His Princess

Posted on September 14, 2019December 3, 2023 by jkirst

Hello everyone! As part of Short Story Saturday, I have posted another short story, this one entitled His Princess. Strap in as it is perhaps the longest story I’ve written on the blog thus far. Please enjoy. I am currently listed at #16 on feedspot’s Top 20 Short Story Blog page. Please check it out. Also, if you haven’t already checked out my FAQ on my upcoming book, Magic Once Removed, please check that out as well. Thanks again!

People were surprised by my sudden retirement and have been distraught over my subsequent behavior. Most have blamed mental illness but I assure you that I am not suffering from a defect in the mind. Rather, I am cursed with knowing the truth. Perhaps a discussion of my last case is warranted as it’ll help enlighten how a hardened veteran police detective became a disheveled mess sitting alone in a cheap hotel. This may be my last chance.

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Short Story Saturday: The Hands That Move

Posted on August 17, 2019December 3, 2023 by jkirst

Hands That Move: Short Story Saturday - Photo by Amar Saleem on Pexels — Photo by Amar Saleem on Pexels

Hello everyone! As part of Short Story Saturday, I have posted another short story, this one entitled The Hands That Move. Please enjoy.

Introduction by Harold Koonce, police sergeant, Evergreen, Washington

So a lot of people want me to talk about this story and post it online. But to tell you the truth, I don’t find the story all that interesting compared to how we found it. You see, I was just sitting in the station talking to my pal Murphy when suddenly this man busts through the doors like a bat outta hell.

He starts talking about how he and his friend decided to do some exploring over on Douglas Island right off the coast of Evergreen. It’s supposed to be off-limits as ordered by The Douglas Island Natural Area Reserve on account that it is one of the few places that have all those Ximuce trees. Though now that I think about it, I’m not sure why that’s so important. We got plenty of them in mainland Evergreen.

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Short Story Saturday: Out of the Blue Corner

Posted on August 3, 2019December 3, 2023 by jkirst

Hello everyone! As part of Short Story Saturday, I have posted another short story, this one entitled Out of the Blue Corner. Please enjoy.

His legs wobbled as he struggled to keep his bloated body upright. Both fists felt like blistered hams underneath his gloves as he raised his sore arms to attempt and emulate a fighting stance. His eyes winced due to the brightness of the lights above, so bright that his skin became dry and flaked. The canvas felt like concrete beneath his soles. Smells of cigarettes and cheap bourbon assaulted his olfactory nerves as they wafted in the air.

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Short Story Saturday: Only Could Be More Heartwarming Set in Philadelphia

Posted on July 13, 2019December 3, 2023 by jkirst

Hello everyone! As part of Short Story Saturday, I have posted another short story, this one entitled Only Could Be More Heartwarming Set in Philadelphia. Please enjoy.

With a loud bang, splinters flew across the room. A wave of armored men wearing helmets and masks flooded the room with the ferocity of water through a hole in a broken dam. Their assault rifles pointed at their intended target. The flashlights mounted onto the firearms provided the room its only illumination save the luminescent glow of a laptop that resided atop a crudely made wooden table.

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Short Story Saturday: Red Roses and Russian Roulette

Posted on June 29, 2019December 3, 2023 by jkirst

Hello everyone! As part of Short Story Saturday, I have posted another short story, this one entitled Red Roses and Russian Roulette. Please enjoy.

She found herself trapped in a room devoid of any portal to the outside world. Each of the featureless walls loomed above into darkness and felt somehow as if they were closing in. A distinct odor wafted through the air. The smell of roses. It reminded her of melancholy and despair. Her eyes darted in all directions but was having trouble seeing. No illumination was offered save for the lone light bulb hanging dead center in the room. It swung on its own as if it were swaying in the wind despite there being no breeze. Eventually, though difficult to see, she saw the table lying in the middle of the room being flanked on opposite sides by two wooden chairs. Someone was sitting in one of them.

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Short Story Saturday: My Spiritual Codependence

Posted on May 4, 2019December 3, 2023 by jkirst

Hello everyone! As part of Short Story Saturday, I have posted another short story, this one entitled My Spiritual Codependence. Please enjoy.

She appears to me at the most inopportune moments. When I’m at the gym, when I’m driving, when I’m at work, even when I’m in the throes of passion with a woman. She doesn’t care. She’ll appear out of nowhere to interrupt whatever it is I am doing to tell me what is on her mind.

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Short Story Saturday: The Leggy Mistress of The Waterfall

Posted on March 16, 2019December 3, 2023 by jkirst

Hello everyone! As part of Short Story Saturday, I have posted another short story, this one entitled The Leggy Mistress of the Waterfall. Please enjoy.

He didn’t go there looking for love. Rather, he was only there for a stiff drink after a hard day’s work at the Northwest Logging Company. The Waterfall Bar wasn’t even his usual haunt. Never before had he been somewhere that emanated refinement and class. Firefly lights practically danced from above brightening the otherwise dark, smoky atmosphere reminiscent of a cigar lounge. Fittingly, classical music wafted in the air setting an almost melancholy yet comfortable mood. It was certainly a far cry from what demarcated his typical drinking establishment with its flickering fluorescent lights and heavy metal and rap blaring oppressively. At least, that was the kind of music that typically played until he and his friends arrived.

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Short Story Saturday: Love is Sacrifice

Posted on February 9, 2019December 3, 2023 by jkirst

Hello everyone! As part of Short Story Saturday, I have posted another short story, this one entitled Love is Sacrifice. Please enjoy.

The rain always makes me nostalgic. It reminds me of Joelle Iphigenia, the only woman I ever truly loved.

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Short Story Saturday: The Inevitable

Posted on January 5, 2019December 3, 2023 by jkirst

Hello everyone! As part of Short Story Saturday, I have posted another short story, this one entitled The Inevitable. Please enjoy.

It was late, much later than you’d expect a therapist’s office to be open. She was only there because she had lost track of time having spent much of the night going over a patient’s mental health records. The therapist didn’t even notice when the receptionist, the staff, and even the cleaning had finished their duties and departed. Her aspiration to help a troubled and potentially dangerous patient, for she believed she was the only one who could, had superseded all other desires. Succumbing to her innate benevolence would shortly prove to be a mistake.

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Short Story Saturday: Non Morieris in Somnis Memorias

Posted on December 15, 2018December 3, 2023 by jkirst

Hello everyone! As part of Short Story Saturday, I have posted another short story, this one entitled Non Morieris in Somnis Memorias. Please enjoy.

I’m walking through immaculate streets and surrounded by large and luxurious homes, monuments of better days. This place was once vibrant and full of life, now sterile, and empty except for the leaves blowing in the wind. A looming clock tower stands in the center of town. Its ticking hands reverberate inside my skull each passing step perpetually reminding me of the inexorable nature of time.

I am exhausted. Mentally. Physical fatigue is impossible here.

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