Havok Publishing

Tag - family

The Iggle

“We’ll be late, Harold!” Beatrice scolded as Harold zipped toward the nearby star. “I told you we needed to leave early!”
“We would’ve been fine if it weren’t for that construction on the Tarangian Way!” Harold snapped back, purple facial tentacles writhing angrily. “Who reduces an intergalactic byway to one lane? Traffic was stopped completely!”

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Stroke of Genius

Doctor Holloway! Can we please swim in your pool?” The boy looked about nine, and a couple of multicolored beach towels flapped over his shoulder as he came running toward Denise, who was about to pull a lawnmower’s cord. With him was a slightly younger girl, an inflatable swim ring encircling her waist

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When the Fires Burn Out

April 27, 1986
The comforting notes of Babushka’s music box make my heart shatter.
What would she have thought, standing in her granddaughter’s shoes, watching the sky morph as radiation pours into the air? Even in the pain, I imagine she would’ve known what to do. How to help. How to make a difference.

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She Who Holds the Eye

Akiak’s life was a tapestry of legends.
She knew it was Silla, Keeper of Sky, who glazed the night with northern lights when he was lovesick for the Sun. The tears Tapeesa shed for her lost daughter caused the tiny arctic flowers to bloom on the hillsides in the warm season.

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An Invisible Picture of a Forgotten Girl

I’d only wanted to disappear for a time, not be forgotten forever.
I grip the chalk with every muscle in my tired fingers. It scrapes my plea against the pavement in a desperate shade of blue. Mom or Dad will notice me this time. I lean back and rub my sore knees.

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Reginald’s Saturday Morning Surprise

“Reginald!”
At ten years old, I was well-versed in my mother’s acoustic range and recognized this dangerous pitch. I peered out from under my covers—the clock announced “8:00 a.m.” in bright red. On a Saturday morning. Why was I already in trouble?
Panic pulsated through me.

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A Self-Guided Dragon Safari

Carl rested his head against the passenger window of the family-sized hovercraft, wishing he was anywhere but the middle of the Pacific Ocean, traversing the Ring of Fire. Family road trips were the worst.
He glanced at his younger sister. Stella sat beside him, happily braiding her hair. That would be one way to pass the time

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Wing Man

The gulls were the worst part. Daedalus had expected that, though not the reason why.
Often enough had he and his son, Icarus, seen those feathered thieves shrieking and snatching fish, fruit, or whatever else they could gobble along the Cretan shoreline. They’d had plenty of opportunity for such observations. Crete’s ruler

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Doctor Frankenstein 2125

With shaking fingers, Vik attached the last wire to the prosthetic arm’s microprocessor. “The patient is now fully operational.”
His voice sounded deceptively calm, belying his frantically pounding heart.
Behind him, Igor clapped. “It’s ready?”
“He,” Vik corrected, leveling a glare at the technician. “Bring me the defibrillator.”
Above, raindrops pounded against

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Rydinger and the Wolf

Rydinger flipped the hood over his head as a chill wind whipped around a corner. He clutched the waxed fabric parcel closer.
“You sure about this, Red?” His insides twisted at his cowardice. Nessa deserved better.
The shadow in front of him didn’t slow.
“I guess that’s my answer,” he muttered, quickening

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Glaukopis

Pushing Gran’s wheelchair across the threshold into the city’s largest art museum, I was immediately struck by the grandeur of the place. A smile tugged at the corners of my lips. I wasn’t sure whether Gran’s apartment or this museum held more fascinating paintings, books, and artifacts.
For today’s weekly excursion, the care home

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The Hundred-Year-Old Bowl

I’m focused, minding my own business, quietly eating my breakfast of rice, miso soup, and grilled salmon in the dining room. It’s what I do every morning while studying my book of ancient Japanese history.
I’m so entranced that I almost miss the crackling female voice. “Why aren’t you married yet, Airi?

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