Richard J. O'Brien

Queens of the Judas Tree

Mother had been luckier than me. She was from Goa. When she burst forth from Grandmother’s womb, she flew out of the house with the blue and black wings of a Morpho Menelaus butterfly, and she did not return home until she was nearly six months old. I was born ... Read More
On the Way Down: A Story for Ray Bradbury

On the Way Down: A Story for Ray Bradbury

A man jumps off a cliff. I’m gonna need some wings, he thinks. He reaches into his backpack to get some things — wood, nails, a hammer, some string — and then gets down to work building. That ground is coming up awful fast, he thinks, I’d better work a ... Read More
The World Behind the Wallpaper

The World Behind the Wallpaper

Fireworks, flutes of champagne, fleeting kisses brushing sickly sweet perfume on both sides of my cheeks. Cleavages, pearls, suits by Armani and Dior or some new stylist with a jawbreaking name who was lately the buzz of New York. Everyone was resolutely cool. Slick-haired guys in formal gear talking into ... Read More
The World Behind the Wallpaper (Espanol)

The World Behind the Wallpaper (Espanol)

Fuegos artificiales, copas de champán, besos al aire que dejaban empalagosas estelas de perfume caro a ambos lados de mis mejillas. Escotes, perlas, trajes de Armani y de Dior, o de algún nuevo modisto de nombre impronunciable que hacía furor en New York últimamente. Todo el mundo empeñado en ser ... Read More
They Say That Time Assuages

They Say That Time Assuages

No one loved time like Milton Chesterfield. He loved dates, regardless of what events they marked. He loved all the times of day: dusk and dawn, noon and midnight. He loved the weeks and the months, especially the leap-year fluctuations of February. He loved minutes and he loved all of the ... Read More