Song Of The Absurd

Simon, the court jester, pranced across the oval flagstones, drawing sneers from the many important personages in attendance. They found his antics both annoying and embarrassing, and wondered why the king tolerated him.

Just last week, Lord Bulworth had insinuated, in the most polite tone, that perhaps his majesty had been ill-advised when he ordered the Naval attack against the Kingdom of Flavina. He was beheaded before sunset. Yet Simon was allowed to hurl all manner of insults against the King's most trusted advisors.

When the royal order for the next purge came, Simon was the only one to survive.

The Other Side Of Obsession

Nothing was as he remembered. Not the walk, with the chipped and uneven flagstones, nor the dusty, desiccated garden, nor the house itself. The two decades had ravaged the property and Stephen immediately regretted its purchase.

As a youth, his mother brought him here on Saturdays. He'd sit in the chamber to the rear of the kitchen reading library books, hoping the owner's children failed to notice his presence.

The Packards had long since moved on to a much more modern estate. It seemed he was still trying to catch up in a race only he knew they were running.

The Recumbent Bicycle

When Inspector Grimes arrived at the scene, a flood of details cried out for his attention, as they so often did: the layer of grime between the flagstones, the single shoelace tied around a stack of books, the taste of almonds hovering in the air. Any of them might be important, but it was the recumbent bicycle the inspector focused on now. Someone had knocked it to the ground.

Being a good detective requires blotting out emotions and staying focused on the meaningful details. But right now all Grimes could think about was that his best friend had been murdered.