The short fiction of j hardy carroll
“We hired you because of your vision, James,” said the senior partner. “We gave you an opportunity here. You knew the importance of this project to the firm.” “And this is what you bring us,” said the junior partner. “This…I don’t know what to call it.” The drawing lay unrolled on the conference table between…
They said it was the law that turned him out of the house. They lied, saying he could have stayed if it was up to them. They didn’t exactly blame him for her death. They just didn’t want him around as a reminder of her decline. He blamed himself, of course. For a while he…
“Like a drink?” Without waiting for me to answer she handed me a beading glass. I took a sip. “The good stuff. And in the wedding glassware, no less.” “I thought you deserved something special after the day you had.” She gentled the back of my neck like I was a skittish horse. “My man.”…
I know this place. Of course. You have been here many times. Countless. But why am I here again? You do not remember? Is that world you cared so much about already gone from your recollection? It seems like a dream I had as a child. You have said that before. How do you feel?…
I don’t recall the picture, only that it starred an actor who was young and handsome at the start of his career fifty years ago but was now an aged relic. Dark thoughts in the darkened theater as I watched the folds of wizened skin beneath the famous chiseled jaw, pouches beneath the steel-gray eyes. Projected…
It’s not the place. She kept telling herself this, but it wasn’t helping. She swallowed, the acrid taste of bile in her throat. It was cold on deck, the wind’s icy fingers prying open the buttons of her coat. She gripped the steel rail as she watched the bow cleave the black water. The motors’…
At first I denied it, telling myself autumn was coming early. Leaves can begin to turn in July. It had been a dry spring. But there were the birds. In the three weeks since coming here we hadn’t seen a single bird. I took up the satchel of food I’d scavenged from the deserted grocery.…
She sat cradling her mug of tea. From time to time she would lower her face to it, close her eyes and inhale the fragrant steam. This was the tenth night in a row she had awakened screaming at precisely 2:10 am, the tenth morning after she had lain awake with the visions she would…
“Where is my coffee?” “It’s right there in front of you, dear.” “Ah. Yes. So it is!” He lifted it to his lips and for a moment I could again see what he’d looked like as a little boy. “Oh, this is good. What is it again?” “It’s coffee, dear. Just as you like it.”…
The old man turned off the truck. The only sound was the Ford’s engine ticking as it cooled. “Well,” said Cole. “Guess I better get started.” “Guess you better,” said the old man. Cole opened the door and stepped onto the rocky ground. The old man got out and came around to stand next to…