The old woman opened her eyes, blinked a few times, and sat up in bed. She turned this way and that, peering at the objects in the small room: a low, narrow bed with fairytale figures carved in the ... [+]
E J Delaney lives in Brisbane, Australia, and spends many an hour staring out the window. E J’s short story ‘The Sixes, the Wisdom, and the Wasp’ was published in Escape Pod (#612) and shortlisted for the 2018 Aurealis Awards. E J's middle grade stories appear also in Countdown (May 2020), Blast Off (June 2020), Spider (March 2022) and Touchdown (June 2022). "Making an Ass" is in Short Circuit #12, Short Édition's quarterly review.
Kate had butterflies in her stomach.
Tonight was the nativity play; everything they'd rehearsed for the last month. Kate knew her lines and her song. She was fine with that. The problem was, they weren't going to make it.
"We're late!" she wailed.
"No, honey." Her dad winced and overtook a truck. "We'll be fine. There's plenty of time."
"When were we supposed to be there?" her mum asked.
Past tense, Kate noted. Past tense!
She craned her neck, looking for the dashboard clock. Outside, unfamiliar roads blurred in the twilight. How far was it from the airport to the school?
Too far!
Kate