M.K. Lee's Blog: Telling Tales, page 82

Diary Drabble: Vegetable

Its hardly an allotment. More of a vegetable patch.

Marcus stiffens, masking his indignation, taking his frustration out on the garden fork.

Im not saying it wont be great, Ted adds, his voice tinged with amusement, like hes heard Marcus internal protest.

Soils good, Marcus says, turning over another clod. Its rich, loamy, and hes confident hell get a decent few things to grow.

So how long before were the envy of the neighbours, handing out potatoes to random people passing because weve got...

Diary Drabble: Scrape

The scrape of the branches against the window had ceased to irritate him, blending into little more than background noise. He only looked up for the clattering at the back gate, jolting as the bin struck the side of the house. He looked at the window, debating even getting up from his desk. But the thought of the bin lid rattling around out there and what damage it might do sent him rushing to the back door, yanking it open and bracing against the expected gale.

There was nothing but...

Diary Drabble: Fog

Jason could barely see the other side of the street for how heavy the fog was. The hills in the distance disappeared into a blanket of white, all the colour seeming to drain from the world at every point. Jason put the rubbish in the bin the task hed come out here to do then went back into the house, shivering for the cold. Today was a non-starter. The files hed brought home to work on were unopened on his coffee table. Next episode hit one too many times on Netflix. The fog pressed against...

Diary Drabble: Show

Theyd been waiting too many months for the return of their favourite TV show. Too many teasers, too many times the schedule had been pushed back. the day leading up to the first new episode airing left everyone nervous. Those who could view it live at a reasonable hour prepared themselves with wine and snacks, and those that couldnt found streaming sites with grainy pictures to squint at in the middle of the night. And when it started, an international fandom held its collective breath. Was...

Diary Drabble: Messy

This second date wasnt just a disaster, it was a literal nightmare from hell. Toby was ten minutes late because of traffic, arriving breathless and sweaty at the restaurant. Hed knocked over Stuarts drink as hed stood to kiss him in greeting, then almost broke his phone trying to clean up. And then hed chosen the most unstable of burgers. The entire thing slipping through his fingers revealing he was both messy and stressed.

Relax, Stuart said, reaching out to squeeze his hand.

Tobys...

Diary Drabble: Nap

Its just a few minutes. Just a little rest to soothe his aching head. And eyes, dryer than all the deserts for how many hours hes been staring at the screen.

He drops his head back on his pillow and shifts to rid his back of the kinks in his sweatshirt. Then decides hes cold, so fidgets some more until hes snug beneath the duvet.

Just a nap, he says, just a short nap, then back to the work he has to get done today.

Three hours later, he wakes to bristling silence. Certain of a shift in the...

Diary Drabble: Error

It didnt matter what he added or deleted. There was still an error when he refreshed the screen. A blocked out panel in the centre of the page that, if anything, only grow bigger. Like a letter box, he thought, jolting back when it lifted like a flap. Animated, of course, not an actual flap from the screen. But his chest still tightened for the sight of a pair of eyes peering out. He blinked. They blinked back. Irises the colour of opal, and a stare froze him right where he sat.

Uh. Hi, he...

Diary Drabble: Rain

Every step produced a thick, wet, sucking sound for trying to pull his boot from the mud. The rain crept down the back of his neck beneath his not-waterproof jacket, and every item of clothing, every inch of skin was cold, clammy, and wet.

Hed done this to prove a point to those people, those who put foreigners above their own home. He though of dryer times, wished for crowds to amass on London, bemoaning what his beautiful country had become.

Hed lost friends, family, saw prices increase,...

Diary Drabble: Discipline

It takes discipline to go to the gym every Tuesday and Thursday, and swim maybe once or twice a week. It takes discipline to watch whatever drama is unfolding on Twitter and not comment, even if people seem to go out of their way to make his blood boil. But it takes Steven more than discipline, willpower, and resolve not to be the first to message after his dinner with Peter. And when he admits he doesnt want to wait, tries to put it off for a few hours. Its pointless. Steven presses the...

Diary Drabble: Nightmare

Maybe it was an exaggeration to call them a nightmare. Mostly because it was the day they seeped mischief into instead of the night.

The moment they arrived always unannounced, so there was no way of preparing for it chaos descended and peace was shattered. Cliched words, perhaps, but so appropriate; how can such small things make this much noise and create so much disruption?

A calmer storm might be brought in on the back of a hurricane or flood. At least someone might rescue you from...