1. Introduction
2. WAVE FROM THE GRAVE
3. IMMORTAL
4. TRUTH DIARY
5. SPARK OF GENIUS
6. SHUFFLERS
7. IN THE NICK OF TIME
8. SLEIGHT OF HAND
9. TEARS OF A CHILD
10. PRESIDENT MASKED
11. NOT TO ME
12. BREEDING TALENT
13. HIDDEN
14. TAPPED
15. HARNESSED
16. APPRECIATED -Part One
17. APPRECIATED-Part Two
18. HUNTED
19. VENGENCE
20. DUST
21. WHERE CROCODILES BE
22. HAMISH
23. MEMORIES
24. FIRST EASTER
25. ENEMY ON BEACH
26. SENT
27. KNOWN AS
28. F
29. G
30. H
31. I
32. J
33. K
34. L
35. M
36. n
37. O
38. P
39. Q
40. R
41. S
42. T
43. U
44. V
45. W
46. X
47. Y
48. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

These very short stories are meant to entertain the mind in the here and now. There is little time for in depth character development so a lot of typecasting is implied. When the MIC (Most Important Character) is written as ‘a man’ the inference is that he is a modern urbane individual with all the faults of said individuals. On the other hand I only write about strong women. So that is implied when I write "a woman who..". My men may be weak and flawed. But my women are strong and determined. As for children they come from another universe so could be anything at all but never evil. My settings are almost always urban landscapes unless specified to be rural. As for the time setting I try to stay in the Twenty-First Century unless the story forces me into an alternate universe. These stories probably will never be expanded into one of my books. I simply don't have the time. So they must risk falling on uncaring eyes if that is their fate. I send them out but will not nurture them past their arrival in this collection. Anyone wishing to take them further is free to do so if they acknowledge my input.

                                                              Greg Pius

As the funeral procession entered the cemetery grounds cars found there own nesting place. The small number of mourners was carefully selected by the dead man's closest relatives.  Just two family friends were allowed to join the family members who bothered to turn up.

The coffin was carried into the chapel. It had a small glass window that allowed mourners to see the man's face. When asked why they ordered such a device on the coffin, the man's son-in-law said it was to be sure he was dead. That this relative by law was not corrected by either his wife or other blood relatives went to explain a lot. 

The ceremony was short with eulogies that only had  the bare minimum details of the dead man's life. The funeral director was explaining that due to occupational and healthy regulations the coffin would be rolled out of the chapel on a trolley. One woman looked down at her four year old girl. She was waving at the coffin lid. Her mother chastised her by whispering

“Sophie you do not wave at a coffin. Now stop that this instance.”

Somewhat peeved at her mother the little girl whispered back in her loudest whisper

“He started it Mummy.”

Not knowing what the child meant by this outburst her mother repeated her command

“Just stop it now little lady or there will be no ice cream later.”

As Sophie loved ice cream she immediately sat on her hands.

The coffin was taken up to its grave site and lowered into the ground. No one said another word about the deceased. Most of them soon slipped away leaving only the nearest relative to collect a few personal items of the deceased left on the coffin lid. This woman shed a tear for her father but reminded herself of all the wicked things he used to say about her husband. So she walked away to get back with the man she was married to for life. A strongly religious woman she would not countenance a divorce even though many of her siblings tried to convince her that her husband was a waster and a fortune hunter.

Back at the large house that her father had bought just after the war, the eldest daughter check with the caterers. They assured her that was plenty of finger food and whiskey to be served at the wake. For non-drinkers various soft drinks were made available. As for the children they had their own table stacked with chip packets hot dogs on buns and for later ice cream. Luckily for this confused woman only the very youngest children from her extended family had turned up with their parents. When one teenage grandson had been asked to go to his grandfather's funeral he had said

“Why granddad never came to any of my birthday parties. Since I was ten he has never left that gloomy old house that is soooo haunted.”

Most of this boy's cousins had a similar attitude to their ‘grandfather of the spooky old house’.

The man's older relatives pretended that they were going to miss the dead patriarch of their family. The younger children of these adults had rarely seen their grandfather. So they had forgotten him already. Talk was about sport and the weather  but in small groups. The wake was over quickly and most of the adults drunk too much of the dead man's considerable store of Irish Whiskey. 

Once the last person had left the eldest daughter left the caterers to clean up the glasses and plates hired for the evening. She was tired and was going to her room to rest. Her husband had gone to his room in a huff after one of his brother-in-law had told him he was a total loser. The verbal jousting that followed was only broken up when everyone else got sick of them shouting in front of the children. The brother-in-law had left the wake and the husband of the woman had pretended that he had seen him “out of my house”. When his sisters-in-law had pointed out that as the will had not yet been read no one knew who actually owned her dead father's house. This caused him to sulk off up to his room where he faced the horror of someone else other than his wife getting the  house.

The marriage between the only two people left in this large house was a strange one indeed. They rarely spoke to one another. After the honeymoon the patriarch of his wife's family had begun undermining his daughter's marriage. They had to live with her father because her new husband had lost his job. For some reason he was never able to get another job that lasted more than one week. So over time the old man of the house had used his knowledge of his daughter's pet hates to destroy her confidence in her husband's ability to be a real man.

The couple had  decided to have separate bedrooms and separate lives. They rarely went out together except to family functions. Now they were all alone in the big house built and once owned by the woman's father.

The reading of the will was not as contentious as some family members had hoped for given the hatred between dead father-in-law and deadbeat son-in-law. The lawyer waited until all the blood relatives were seated in his large office before opening the sealed manila envelop. Pulling out just two sheets of paper he read the following

"I being of sound mind do leave my stamp collection to my great nephew Nicholas. I leave my coin collection to my great niece Matilda. As for my car collection I leave that to my youngest son. My paintings I leave to my oldest son. As for all my collectibles I leave them to my second oldest daughter. My house I leave to my oldest daughter. As for any money left in my bank accounts that is to be given to the charities as specified on the attached sheet..'  

The lawyer put the will down onto his desk then said

“That all seems straightforward. Are there any questions?”

No one seemed inclined to rock the boat so the reading session was concluded quickly. Everyone of the main beneficiaries had received very valuable bequests. So no one was willing to risk losing what they had just inherited.

As they were leaving the building the oldest son had a verbal swipe at the oldest daughter

“So you must be so happy to get the best of his assets. You were always his favorite.”

Hurt by the injustice of this outburst the oldest daughter said

“You got all his valuable paintings whereas I got an old house that costs a bomb to maintain. So get off my back.”

The unhappy couple drove back to the large house that would be theirs once the will reached final settlement. As they drove into the grounds they both saw the house differently. The woman who was the new owner saw the house as a millstone around her neck. But her husband saw a large asset that could be sold if divorce was the only way out of his failed marriage.

They both went to bed early. One to read her latest eBook. The other one to play on computer gaming sites. The next morning the man went down to the kitchen to find all his breakfast laid out and still hot. Not knowing why he was deserving of such a gesture the husband still got stuck in and finished off the whole lot. He then saw the time and realized he had to leave without thanking his wife. The husband had an early appointment with his lawyer.

The husband had left the kitchen in a big mess but when the new owner went down for her breakfast she only saw a spotlessly clean kitchen. Furthermore her favorite breakfast  was laid out waiting for her arrival. Sitting down to eat this unexpectedly good breakfast, the woman wondered why she deserved such devoted attention from her estranged husband.

When the husband finally got home his wife was out doing a special shop. So he did what he always did in the mid afternoon. He went for  nap.  Waking up in a dazed sate he realized he had overslept. Getting out of bed he made his way to the dinning room. There he saw the table set with their finest cloth and wedding cutlery. Sitting down in a daze he watched as his wife served one great dish after another. Finally dinner was finished and they could thank one another.

Just as the two of them were to blurt out this thanks, their doorbell rang. The husband went down then ushered in a man in a suit. He said

“I was hired by your father to arrange for a holiday for two around Europe. He assigned the day after his funeral as the day that I was to come personally to give you all the details. Shall we start going over the details? There is much to tell you.”

Once the man had left the couple broke their vow of silence.

The man said

“Wow twenty-six countries over the twenty week trip. Its the holiday of a lifetime.”

Smiling at the cunning of her father she said

“No its the honeymoon we had planned but had to abort when Dad had his massive stroke. This must be his way of saying his sorry.”

Her husband was not yet willing to credit his father-in-law with any good intentions so he said

“Your father probably planned to leave this house to that charity conglomerate. The trip was to be our compensation.”

Not discounting this possibility his wife said

“Yes but then why did he changed his mind about the house?”

Over the four week wait for the beginning of their fantastic trip the married couple had other experience of an idyllic union. Fate kept forestalling any sort of heart to heart but there was no doubt that these two were rediscovering their love for one another. Busy packing and planning for the safeguard of the house whilst they were absent, the wife had little time for too much reflection. Her husband was frantic. He had no passport and had not had a medical check up in six years. So he too was kept busy.

Only when they were safely on the plane, that would fly them to Europe, were the two of them able to relax. As the plane took off they sank back into their first class seats.

Twenty weeks flashes by when you are staying at the best hotels in Europe. All the arrangements were perfect. The two of them had the best vacation of their lives. When they finally arrived back home they were once more deeply in love. And they had news for their family. The returning couple would be expecting a baby in late summer. 

So happy were these two that they decided to share their good fortune. So they invited all their family and friends to a big Christmas party. It was a huge success. But one strange thing occurred. One of their family friends had a strange turn. He was standing by the open bar when he yelled out at a young man just entering the room

“There you are I have been looking all over for you. Where did you get to you young scamp.”

The young man was a nephew of the owner of the house. Confused he replied

“Sorry have we met? I only just arrived and was looking for my aunt.”

The family friend looked startled. He said

“Just arrived but I have been talking to you for the last half hour. You told me how happy you were that the owners of this house were now so happy and expecting a baby. Why we even competed in a baby name guessing bet. Deny that if you can.”

The nephew shook his head violently then said

“Look I have just pulled up outside. You can go and check the bonnet of my car if you don't believe me. I don't know who it was you were speaking to but it could not have been me.”

Flabbergasted the family friend said

“But he looked just like you. Same eyes, same cheekbone, same nose. You are speaking differently now and have obviously changed your clothes but I would swear it was you I was speaking to just a minute or so ago.”

Hearing this an old aunt, who was a bit physic, said to this family friend

“Horace come with me. No don't ask questions come with me.”

Not waiting for his answer she grabbed his armed and marched him out into the dinning room. There at the far end of the table, where the master of the house had sat,  was a large painting. It was of a young man. The old aunt said

“Is that the man you were talking to all that time?”

The family friend examined the portrait painting carefully then he exclaimed excitedly

“That's him. Why he is the spitting image of that young man who said he didn't know me. That's him. Who is he? He will tell you I am not mad.”

The old aunt shook her head before saying in a dreadfully somber voice

“No  he won't. You are still mad you know Horace.”

The family friend got a very creepy feeling but had to persist to salvage some respect so he said

“Just you go and ask him. He'll verify that everything I said was true.”

The old aunt said

“Horace you are missing the point. I can't ask him anything.  No one can ..well except you maybe but that won't help your case..”

Now really scared of where this was all going the family friend said

“WHY?  Why can't you ask him?”

The old aunt took pity on this family friend. She took his hand before saying

“Because he's dead. You being away from Australia for over a year. So you missed the funeral. My brother died over six months ago. He's buried up in the family plot.”

Still nothing of all this was said to the now happy couple. Horace left the party white faced. The old aunt explained to her niece that Horace had a nasty shock but would not elaborate.

When all their guest were gone the couple cleaned up the mess. They jokingly swapped stories about what their family got up to during the night. The husband came up with the topper. He said

"I really like little children. Take that niece of yours. I think her name is Sophie. She sat over in that corner talking to her invisible friend as people went in for dinner. When I asked her what the name of her friend was she said it a gruff voice

“Silly can't you see its Grandpa George”

Then she put her finger to her lips and raced in after her mummy. I hope we have a girl just like Sophie."

They both laughed and went off to bed.

At midnight a figure was standing or floating in front of that big portrait painting in the dinning room. The only sound coming from this unsubstantial figure was deep booming laughter. 

                                      THE     END

For infinite crimes of lust, avarice and greed a spiritual being is cursed with immortality. It was informed that all the higher levels of spirituality were now off limits. It would spend eternity on the lowest level possible for any spirit.After an eon every other spirit being it had known ascended to a higher level of existence.. It was forced to watch favorite haunts become deserted and then destroyed by the march of time. Newly formed spirits began to see it as an ancient being with no relevance to their future.

Yet this spiritual being could not  end its own existence. There were more powerful beings but they completely ignored it even when taunted. So the expanding universe became a prison. Having vised every corner, seen every wonder more tan once and watched every possible disaster unfold the cursed being got bored. In its boredom it began to interfere with a race of flesh creatures. Not caring about their welfare it played with their minds. 

Knowing that this race of flesh eaters would not last the being tried to manipulate its demise. But some great power protected this species. So the cursed one tried instead to send the whole race mad.

Seeking amusement and entertainment it drove this species into constant warfare. Often it would hide the peaceful intentions of one group from hostile parties. Sometimes all it needed to do was distract the peacemakers. 

Then came the biggest war of all. The flesh eating race got greedy for gold. Caused partly by the cursed being showing where gold could be mined, the gold fever that gripped this mortal race was the source of a great conflict. Never before had so many soldiers lined up against each other in such a mass of killing.  Heroes were made on this battle field that would be venerated for generations. Then finally the war was won when one side cheated its was into the enemy stronghold. Much amusement was provided to the cursed being as the victors exterminated the vanquished.

But even here the immortal being was denied a complete disaster in all its finality. A small section of the vanquished army snuck away to settle far away from their home. Frustrated that it had been denied even this small morsel, the cursed spirit followed after this sliver of suffering. It tried it hardest to have this  stain on its total enjoyment wiped from the planet but found itself thwarted at every turn. Eventually these war refuges built up a new civilization.  Then this new civilization swept over the known world. It took the cursed spirit to finally bring down this new world conqueror. By undermining the morals of its citizenry the cursed spirit brought in many enemies of this civilization.  Finally the civilization destroyed itself with civil wars.

Now the cursed spirit had to find its amusements elsewhere. But there was only petty civilizations with young highly moral societies. So the cursed spirit left that planet for a time. It went to other places to ferment trouble and cause disasters. But after wiping out all life forms on one planet it was driven away by a coalition of younger spirits. Seeking a refuge  it had to return to that small planet in an obscure part of the universe. 

Depressed at being back where it thought all the entertainment value had been exhausted, the cursed spirit was surprised to find a new civilization of violence. This culture of war and destruction virtually worshiped all the acts  that appealed to the cursed spirit. So it settled in to watch the deluge of violence and hatred play out to its warlike end.

 When this culture was subverted by a force foreign to the cursed spirit it felt like giving up on this flesh eating race. But as it was getting ready to leave the cursed spirit took one final look around the planet.   That was when it found any even more promising culture of violence. So it delayed it departure. Once more it feasted on the violence and destruction of warfare. until this too came to an abrupt end. 

The little planet now got boring so the cursed spirit left for more promising planets. It roamed the universe for an eon taking its pleasures as it found them among the few inhabited planets. At this time it noticed how certain flesh races were moving about in metal cylinders. So it entered one to find out what was happening. To its surprise the race inside this cylinder was the one it had observed on that little small planet. So it hang around to see what would come of this experience.

Much to the amusement of the cursed spirit the cylinder was intercepted by one of the most vicious races in the universe. Sitting back to watch the demise of this small race the spirit got a message. It was offered ascendancy to a higher spirit level if and only if it saved the little cylinder from their vicious captors.

The offer was a one time only deal.

So the cursed spirit sprang into action. It entered the much larger metal vessel of the vicious race. Then it did what it was good at doing. Going from occupant to occupant it set one against another.  The end result was that battles broke out between the warriors on that space ship. Before order could be restored the battling warriors caused their ship to veer off course. Before course corrections could be made the vicious warriors were wiped out by an asteroid collision. 

The last thing the cursed spirit saw in that universe was the small cylinder safely moving away from what would have been oblivion. After uncountable eons the curse was lifted and this spirit ascended to its next spirit level. At this level there was no immortality curse. It was now like ever other spirit at that level. whether it was a wiser spirit was yet to be determined.

                                      THE    END