Trash Day by Phillip Temples, pumpkin spice latte

 Emma Jean Watkins looks at her overflowing trash can.

It’s time to take out the garbage.

She doesn’t generate a lot of refuse; what little trash she produces she dumps in the backyard for there is no longer any trash pickup in the town. Each week, a friend of Emma Jean’s from Luzerne County stops by to stock her with groceries and collect her paper and glass recyclables. 

 Emma Jean’s hometown, Centralia, Pennsylvania, is the site of an immense underground coal fire that has been burning for decades. All of the homes and properties in Centralia have long-since been condemned by the state due to the risk from dangerous gasses and sudden ground collapse. Seven elderly residents remain. They are grandfathered—allowed to live out their lives in what used to be a vibrant little town. No matter. Emma Jean knows that soon, she, too, will be dead and gone.

With a determined effort, Emma Jean drags the trashcan off the back porch and into the backyard. She stops twice to rest from the physical ordeal. When she arrives at the designated spot, Emma Jean summons up her remaining strength. She upends the can and dumps the contents into a smoky, smoldering pit of literal hell-fire.

She’s left instructions in her will that she should be disposed of in this hole when it’s time. 

About the author 

Phillip Temples is still trying to make sense of it all. Writing and photography seem to help. He can be followed athttps://temples.com or @PhilTemples on Twitter. 

 

 Did you enjoy the story? Would you like to shout us a coffee? Half of what you pay goes to the writers and half towards supporting the project (web site maintenance, preparing the next Best of book etc.)

Blue by Phillip Temples, coffee, black

 

The lobsterman was hauling up his pots off George’s Bank when, to his astonishment, he discovered one of them contained a blue lobster. He knew the odds of catching a blue were one in a million. To his dismay, this lobster was not a keeper. It was a juvenile and the length of its carapace was barely two inches. It was well under the legal size. 

What a shame, thought the lobsterman. Had it been an adult, some city slicker couple would have paid an exorbitant price to own it as a novelty. They’d keep it in their seawater aquarium and show it off to all their high society friends at parties. More’n likely, after a few months they would have tired of its beauty. Then they would board their fancy yacht with their animal-rights friends and release it back into the ocean to great fanfare.

The man studied the lobster for a moment. Then he took out his smartphone and snapped pictures of the trophy before bending over the side and gently releasing it back into the ocean depths. 

Next time, he thought.

As the juvenile lobster settled within a few feet of the bottom, it was spotted by a hungry dogfish. The fish didn’t care that its next meal was under 3.25 inches. Or that it was blue.

About the author 

 

Phillip Temples is still trying to make sense of it all. Writing and photography seem to help. He can be followed at https://temples.com or @PhilTemples on Twitter.

 

Did you enjoy the story? Would you like to shout us a coffee?  Half of what you pay goes to the writers and half towards supporting the project (web site maintenance, preparing the next Best of  book etc.) and getting the next book out.

 

Sibling Love

 

by Phillip Temples

Dirty Shirley Temple

 

Janice and Wilbur Nottingham were twins conjoined at the pelvis. They shared a home in Newcastle upon Tyne. They were also best friends and literally inseparable.

Many might think that the idea of going through life stuck with one’s sibling would be insufferable and a living hell, but Janice and Wilbur took it in stride. They were mostly simpatico and shared a positive outlook on life. Occasionally, if some petty argument arose or cross words were said, the two would talk it out and forgive one another, or just agree to disagree. They rarely stayed mad at each other for any period of time. They had no other choice—that is, until the day the doctors in London contacted them and proposed that they undergo a complicated surgical procedure and be separated.

When he was first told about the procedure, Wilbur found the prospect of living apart intriguing. There wasn’t a chance to enjoy a normal sex life whilst stuck at the hip with his sister. Privacy was not an option. The two had long resigned themselves to living a celibate life, given that they both found the idea of polyamorous relationships to be blasphemous.

After heartfelt discussion, Janice and Wilbur decided to explore the separation procedure. The surgery would not be without its risks, explained the doctors. They would be admitted to hospital and their anatomy would be thoroughly studied to ensure that the connective tissue that bound them as one could be safely separated.

The first day in hospital involved numerous tests. The head surgeon came to their room that evening to have a frank discussion with the siblings.

“The good news is, the procedure is possible. There are the risks. But we find that no major organs or blood vessels will be compromised by the separation. There is something else I need to discuss with you, however.”

There was a hint of excitement in the doctor’s voice that he could not quite suppress.

“Your condition is even more rare than we thought. In addition to your conjoining, you also have an asymmetrical, or unequal conjoined ‘triplet.’ It’s quite extraordinary, actually! It’s… um, rather, ‘she’—is a small mass that comprises the bulk of the connective tissue. Surely both of you must have felt the unusual mass at one time or another? Your unborn sibling is not visible to the naked eye but we can see it readily using MRI.

“Oftentimes these unequal conjoined siblings are reabsorbed by the host—or hosts. In fact, there’s indications that this absorption has been taking place for many years. If left undisturbed, the process will likely continue.”

Wilbur and Janice were speechless.

“Look, I know this is a lot to take in.  I’m going to give you time to discuss this with each other.”

The surgeon left the room.

“Well, this changes nothing. We should go ahead with the surgery,” opined Wilbur.

Upon hearing Wilbur, Janice could barely contain her anger. 

“What kind of monster are you?! This changes everything. We’re not going forward with the operation. You heard the doctor. Our ‘sister’ is the glue that holds us together. I will not have her sacrificed for your convenience.”

“But she was never alive, Janice! You can’t possibly think—”

“And another thing, brother—you stop absorbing her this very instant!” 

#

Janice was now adamantly opposed to the operation, while Wilbur strenuously denied that he was absorbing their little sister. They were at an impasse. Also, they were no longer on speaking terms.

The two (and-a-half) siblings checked out of the hospital later that day and returned to Newcastle upon Tyne. Two weeks later, Wilbur stabbed Janice in the heart with a steak knife.  

About the author

 Phillip Temples lives in Watertown, Massachusetts. He's had five mystery-thriller novels, a novella, and two short story anthologies in addition to over 170 short stories online. He can be found at https://temples.com

The Woman of My Dreams

 

by Phillip Temples 

espresso

 

John knew the perfect place to bring Deloris. It was a scenic pasture in the Florida countryside.

            Although they’d lived under the same roof for the past twelve years, the two hadn’t been on speaking terms for some time. John had hoped that the idea of divorce would have entered her mind—and vocabulary—but she would never ask for, or grant one. Too stubborn, he thought.  He’d have to resolve their estrangement in a less complicated manner.

“It’s beautiful.” Then she scowled.  “But—why? Why bring me here? What are you up to, John?”

“Can’t you enjoy nature for one moment without being so cynical for a change?”

She sighed. “You’re right.”

Deloris turned and walked towards a nearby crab apple tree. John knew of her fondness for fresh fruit. When their relationship was warm and caring and they shared frequent walks, she would always stop to pluck jackfruit, apples, mangoes, and figs from trees.

Deloris bent over and picked up a ripe apple that had fallen from a low branch. She bit into the fruit.  She appeared to be pleased by its taste. She even smiled at him. “It’s delicious! Come, have one.”

John kept his distance as Deloris continued to consume the fruit.  “No thanks.”

“Why not?”

“Because. That’s not a crab apple tree. It’s a manchineel tree.”

She shot him a quizzical look.

“You know—a beach apple—poison guava. One bite can be fatal. You’ve just taken several.”

Deloris looked at him with a horrified expression. She dropped the beach apple then she immediately started to experience difficulty breathing as the poison quickly worked to constrict her air passages. In less than a minute she was on the ground gasping, in her final death throes.

“It’s a pity.  I did love you once. Perhaps now I can finally meet the woman of my dreams.”

 

About the author

Phillip Temples resides in Massachusetts. He's had five mystery-thriller novels, a novella, and two short story anthologies published in addition to over 170 short stories online.  Phil is a member of New England Science Fiction Association, Mystery Writers of America and the Bagel Bards. https://temples.com.