Short Stories

The Postmortem Adventures of Edward Wild “The Pearl” ~ The Second Adventure

~ These are the adventures of one Edward Wild, a thirty-something stockbroker from New York City. Having been killed by a vehicle while crossing Wall Street, he was escorted to the spirit world by Rhys, an ancestor who lived in Wales before the Romans came. Upon his arrival in the spirit world, he was taken by Rhys to meet Dr. Albert Schweitzer, who invited Edward to join them in their mission to rescue individuals trapped in the lower realms. Edward accepted, and subsequently met with Rhys and his magnificent wife Isobel, and the other members of their team. There was Lucio, a former student of Leonardo da Vinci; Scatman, a jazz singer from 1930s Harlem and Yumiko, a pearl diver from ancient Japan. Edward’s first mission was to help rescue Molly, a young alcoholic woman from the 1600s. Edward related his experiences on that mission in his narrative “The Girl in the Tavern: The First Adventure”. ~

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, January 13, 2008

One of the hardest things to get used to in the spirit world is the sense that time has little meaning. After Rhys had brought me to my new home by the river, I had decided to explore the land around my cottage. As I traipsed up and down the countryside, and climbed to the tops of some surrounding hills, I kept expecting the daylight to fade into the warmth of a summer evening. Even though Rhys had told me that the sunshine was unending in the middle and upper realms, I found myself hoping that a sunset would sneak its way over the mountains and surprise me. more

The Fragrance of Violets

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, May 5, 2007

Spreading news from one end of the village of Tamberleau to the other, and then on into the cottages and hovels dotting the surrounding farmland, was a favorite pastime of the old woman with the broom. She took particular delight in reporting on the misdeeds of men, being convinced that most men were slaves of the devil. When the Chevalier Gilot de Fournier rode into the village to claim his inheritance as the new Baron, on a bitterly cold winter morning in early December of 1356, the old woman cursed as he passed. more

The Day the Moon Smiled

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, April 22, 2007

The Master of the Moon was just finishing a detailed sketch of a dimple when the light over the message tube flashed red. He paused, and thoughtfully erased a smudge on the paper, trying to ignore the insistent flashing. He had been expecting it for days. more

The Republican Corpse

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, April 21, 2007

It’s not every day that you find a Republican corpse stuffed upside down in a broom closet on Capitol Hill. The fact that the head of the victim was rudely jammed into a dirty mop bucket caused even more stir among the faint of heart gathered that morning in the Ways and Means Committee room on the first floor of the Longworth House Office Building. more

The Postmortem Adventures of Edward Wild “The Girl in the Tavern” ~ The First Adventure

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, April 15, 2007

I was very surprised when I died. You might think from that statement that I was surprised at the truck that came roaring down Wall Street and hit me smack on my keister, throwing me against a lamp pole with such force that my body looked like a pretzel. The driver had been distracted by some cigarette ash that fell on his lap, and happened to look down just at the wrong moment, while I was stepping out from the curb on my way to lunch. more

Birth

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, February 23, 2004

Being naked, hot and dirty was normal for the small tribe that lived on the edge of the foothills on the East African plain. The daily struggle and violence of life a million and a half years ago made novelties like bathing entirely unnecessary. Thus, the actions of two of the women in the tribe seemed to the others to be an incomprehensible waste of time. Even the leader of the group, possessed as he was with superior strength and intelligence, gazed in bewilderment whenever the women walked into a river and bathed. more

The Last Person

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, October 17, 1999

It was the expression on the woman's face that had caught the monk's attention. It was one of those quiet, inscrutable expressions that gnawed at one's mind, begging to be understood, yet at the same time running in full retreat from the cruelty of gawkers. more

The Angel Who Fed the Cat

by Peter Falkenberg Brown, June 5, 1999

The man woke suddenly, surprised that it was still dark. He rubbed his head as he glanced at his wife sleeping next to him, wondering if it was his headache that had awakened him. He could see their four children sprawled across the other bed and the floor of the motel room, limbs askew in impossible positions. more