BreakInTheSun

Piazza Maestro was empty and dark. The only light came from  atop the Cathedral of Saint Borgia, casting a distorted shadow of the Vitruvian Christ across the uneven cobblestones. The absence of the creak of the great clock was louder than the creak itself had ever been, as if the silence amplified every other noise in the city. Here came a slap, a laugh, a slamming door, a moan of pleasure or of pain; even the cry of a cat (or was it an infant?) cut off suddenly, as if self-conscious that it could suddenly be heard. Bianca stood at the far end of the piazza, staring down the winding length of the craftsmens' alley. The light of gas and cand

It is just past 11 AM. The breakfast rush, which was no rush at all, is over. The griddles are silent. The air in the diner is starting to smell of sweat and crumbs caught between the vinyl booth seats. The cook is wiping down the counter, and all he can smell is the cleaning fluid on his rag. There are a boy and a girl. They had sat down together. She had ordered French toast. He had gotten eggs. It seemed inappropriate to him to order something sweet. He had wanted to tell her that she should order something different too, but didn't know how to say it. The waitress had been wiping down tables when she heard the rhythm of their voices cha

I'd been walking east a long time when I saw them. At first I thought they were buzzards circling in the sky, and where there's buzzards, there's meat, or water -- and trouble. I took out my sling and kept a hand on my machete. Then they came closer, and I recognized the sound. I was sure I was hallucinating. It was hot, and days since I'd had more than a few drops of water. I shook my head and kept walking, but they didn't go away. And then I looked up, and they were right overhead, a pair of helicopters flying over the desert. I waited. One circled around, came back, landed with a cloud of dust and noise that I hadn't heard since the noise

        Jim had been sitting in a diner off the highway in 1951 when the recruiters came. Jim was wearing a suit, on his way to a sales convention. After the war he had moved to the big city, started going by Jim, or even James, instead of Jimmy, and told everyone he had grown up in California instead of Ohio. When his car had broken down, he couldn't even admit to himself that he knew how to fix it. So he sat at the diner, waiting for the mechanics to be done with it. In a few moments, his old friend Pete would have come into the diner by chance and recognized him, and forced Jim to confront his demons

Me, I was perfectly happy working on my parents' pharm and spending my free time hanging out with my boys in town or playing PlayBox. But Kayla got ambitious on me. She had been saving up her money for a gym membership, so she could get her weight down to where she could get into a good school, not just the little community college nearby. I was all set up to ask her to marry me, but I knew she'd never agree, not if it meant being stuck in town. We got paid in health insurance for what we grew on the pharm, but I'd never be able to afford it on my own. Hell, I couldn't even afford a gym membership. Then one day it hit me. I was kicking ass

Night, child, night, the wind is still gusting Night, child, night, the treetops are rustling Night, night, a star sings on high Sleep, sleep, and let the flame die. Night, child, night, don't hold your eyes wide Night, child, night, abroad tonight ride Night, night, three men under arms Sleep, sleep, drawn by your charms. Night, child, night, the first overpowered Night, child , night, the second devoured Night, night, and the one who remains Sleep, sleep, has forgotten your name. Night, child, night, the wind is still baying Night, child, night, the treetops are swaying Night, night, only you are still there Sleep, sleep, but

EXT. APARTMENT Matt Damon knocking on a door. INT. APARTMENT Matt Damon is sitting with a woman and son.                         MATT DAMON                 Good evening, ma'am                         (cut)                 I hear your son is ha

Once upon a time there was a king who had two sons. The older son was raised to be king after his father, and the younger son was jealous. Now, some princes would have tried to kill their brothers, or convince them to undertake impossible quests, but this prince wasn't like that. Finally one day he realized that if he wanted to become a king too he would have to find a crown princess to marry. So he said goodbye to his family, saddled up his horse, and set off into the world. The prince traveled for many months, across many lands, but all the princesses he met were either too young, or too old, or too married for him. The one day someone tol

        The town was just a town like any other in the deep prairie. Its old wizards' tower had survived the revolution and had been converted into a church, marked with a neon Holy Disc that was nearly invisible against the metallic sky. Towering above it, a radio mast swayed gently in the dry breeze.         There was a caravanserai at the edge of town, its clay walls hardened from decades in the hot sun; nevertheless, someone had driven metal poles into them, holding up a billboard: "Food Drinks Rooms Cheap".         T