William King

Chapter Five - Still Waters. Amar and Samir found some of the boys already asleep when they got back to the tent. Those who weren’t yet, were just about to go to bed. Samir avoided any contact with Mohmmad, although he felt him staring. He made up the simple bed, laying out the blanket, getting the sleeping bag ready. Amar had gone to talk to Nazir. Anas was there with them, but was already tucked up in the sleeping bag with his back to the other two. Samir did wonder what they wer

Next three chapters are live with an added extra at the end of Chapter Seven. A bit about the inspiration.

Rompecabezas Chapters Three and Four are up!

Chapters One and Two are now live!

The intense heat and desolation hit you immediately the journey begins at the sordid truck stop, where sex is sold as easily as a beer. Jabez, the boy they call John, is a candy seller working for the hotel barman, a magician who can read people. But there is another reality, the Palace of Dreams where Jabez is the guide to strange events and pleasures. A bond is formed in the search to find El Cuervo de Plata (The Silver Crow).

@JeffreyL there are twists in the tale and a few good souls!

Chapter 4 - Edmund. Gaziantep is a modern sprawling metropolis that on the surface looks like any other city. High-rise apartment blocks spread out in all directions, two big shopping centres with Starbucks, Novotel, and all those other well-known western trademarks, there's even a Marks and Spencer. The streets are crowded with people going about their business, just like you find anywhere in the world, but this city is unique. Unique because of where it is, not because it's in Turkey,

Un Chateau en Espagne (French) For anyone who likes French films - This is not as such a gay themed movie, the protaganists are a little too young. It is a rather interesting film, well acted, about two twelve year olds, who are best friends, and must face up to being separated. Whilst enjoying the antics of the two boys, the film gives a subtle insight, lingering just below the surface, about the emotions of twelve year olds. Their immaturity and selfishness, their interactions are spot on, and whilst on a superficial level, it's a nice little film, on another level it reminds us of the raw basic characters of young boys. Those charming looking angels are a small step away from the animalistic behaviour depicted in Lord of the Flies. https://www.theskykid.com/un-chateau-en-espagne-2007/ I watched this on TV last night, in French, but I believe there maybe an English version, there is definitely a Spanish version.

Chapter Three - Graham. You would think aid workers in war-ravaged countries would be of a certain type. That they’d have compassion or a vocation for helping people. Assumptions like that are speculative. Graham is the living proof it is not necessarily true. A bit overweight and not being tall gave him a rounded appearance, definitely no rock star or super model, but he was well liked and amiable. Graham had worked all over the world with UNHCR, from Africa to South America, and

There are two topics here: giving/receiving criticism and racism, and perhaps a third about acceptance; accepting viewpoints you disagree with, allowing free expression. Regarding the first, there is some hypocrisy by authors, a number of whom like mutual appreciation and do not take criticism and bad reviews very well. There exists the phenomenon that the referenced book and author experienced, namely a clubbing together to destroy anyone with opposing views, to suppress those views and eradicate negative comments and or reviews. On racism, there is a big difference regarding America, Australia, and Europe. The USA is a country fabricated by diverse populations of mixed race from many parts of the world, with a minority of indigenous people. Australia is emerging from a history of racism where its indigenous people were treated as second class citizens. Europe has racism which varies in its apparition from country to country. British cities are largely multi-cultural, however a prime reason for Brexit was a reaction against mass immigration from countries like Poland. A racism against white people that brought their language and culture with them, to which the reaction was “Why don’t you speak English or go back where you came from.” In France, black people are called black, not people of colour, there is racism against people from those previously colonized countries, blacks and Arabs (North Africans). Go to Spain, and walk around the capital Madrid, and you are very unlikely to see a black person, they keep in the background, out of sight. I was on the metro when people actually commented, “We can breathe now the “nigger's” got off.” Spain and Italy are very racist regarding black people. I have not began to talk about Roms and gypsies or anti-Semitism. As for the author and her book, I can only comment that she was very naive, and blatant stupidity, “I didn't realise until it was pointed out,” is not an excuse. But as I stated previously, I abhor the bullying culture that would burry a person beneath a barrage of negative comments making a campaign to destroy the author, even to the point of attempting to get her editor/publisher to drop her.

@JeffreyL thank you for your comment. I am tempted to say something more than you will have to read on, but I don't want to write any spoilers... so you will have to - read on 😉

Yes, a harsh story. I should have dedicated it to David F, but of course, he'll never get to read it! It's tiny cameo from life. Terrible, sometimes things just go the hell wrong. I still think about him, he was twenty something.

@deville very nice comment and exactly right, you described it in a sentence.

Chapter Two - Amar. There were tents spread out everywhere. Samir wandered amongst them, snatching glances here and there, sometimes looking inside. A block of toilets, square cabins, stood in a neat row. The smell said it all. People moved about, no one looked at him, probably no one even noticed he was there. He was alright for now. Just walking around, trying to see where everything was. Except all there was were the tents and not much else. Eventually he found himself not even looki

@Terry P and @JeffreyL thank you for commenting. The story has a long way to go as it follows Samir's journey.

Part One - Exodus “Why must we fight for the right to live, over and over, each time the sun rises?” Leon Uris - Exodus Chapter One - Samir Samir couldn't tell if his eyes were open or closed. There was no pain, no sound, just darkness. A weight pressed down on him, something sharp was sticking into his leg near the top; he could feel it. He heard his heart beating.

The following story is a work of fiction. It is inspired by real events and based on reports from various reputable sources, including national newspapers and UNHCR. None of the characters are real persons any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. Where place names are given, these are real, descriptions of activities which take place there and the people involved are fictitious. Acknowledgement. I would like to say a special thank you to my

Russian Roulette By William King It’s worse than running a red light. Sure, one time you might get hit, but... Doesn't mean it’s all over. Depends. This was different. One of those chambers wasn't empty. Russian fucking roulette. Keep playing. And it’s gonna happen. Inevitable. Some things you can talk about, even need to. But I don’t need to talk to anyone about this. I know what being in love is. Feeling sick. Thinking all the time about him. Wanting to be with him. W

I write about places I know, Speechless, my short story is set in a real part of London. But I also write about places I have never visited and only know from what I've read, Google maps (street view is pretty good!), pictures found online. Sometimes I have taken a place I know and moved it to another continent. I have also mentioned places just by name, that are real, but the rest of the description, such as it is, is fabricated. We are talking fiction, it's amusing to read a story, part of which, or the whole, maybe set in a place you are familiar with, but I don't think I would pull an author up for getting a detail wrong or changing things about the place. I'm not writing a travel guide! Research, yes, but inspiration, and atmosphere, story and plot, the background setting is just that, background.

Terminus by William King “I fucked things up. I know.” It was hard to even look at Alec. So he didn’t. He avoided his gaze. There was a moment of silence. Not real quiet. The murmur of voices and the clickety-click of the train. Those noises were there. In the background. It was crowded. Packed. Like always. “I treated you badly, very badly.” It was almost as if they were in a bubble. Alone together. The rest of the world was a cocoon. Not like before. It cro

London Bridge is Down by William King. Buckingham Palace, London – 03:15 Sir Christopher paced back and forth in front of the solid mahogany desk that occupied a prominent place in his rather splendid office. Then he stopped and walked over to stare out through the tall window, framed by heavy embroidered drapes. It was raining, ‘when wasn't it.’ Looked like it was turning to sleet. There was a knock at the door. He turned back to look. Anthony, the young man who had recently joi

An Anthology of Flash Fiction.

@JeffreyL thank you for your comment. I'm pleased you enjoyed it.

@D.K. Daniels I can see why you liked this short story, to quote you: " I never wish to create a perfect story, just a bittersweet one." And this tale is a little like that. Life, as you say, ticks on, we inevitably must grow older. With age comes knowledge and wisdom, but at the cost of youthfulness. It's all summed up in an idiotic British expression - you can't have your cake and eat it! Nevertheless, moments like those imagined in this tale, do happen, and bring with them a certain joy - I think we could call it, love and life, or simply love of Life!