Pockets by Amal El-Mohtarcharming little mystery.https://uncannymagazine.com/article/p...Uncanny Magazine, Jan/Feb 2015Yeah, like I'm gonna review here. Set to disappear in three... two... one...

Quirky and fun with pensive overtones and an underlying theme of connection. Not my usual sort of read, but I liked that it made me think!Read this short story here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/pockets

When she starts pulling things that are not her own, out of her pockets, Nadia realizes she has a...what? A gift, a curse, just what is happening to Nadia?  Another author might turn this into a horror story and then I'd call what happens to Nadia, a curse, probably.  This story, for me, is a story of hope and sharing, and we find that the sharing can be much more than things. The story involves pockets and things that come out of Nadia's pockets but we find that something more important than th...

This week had been so unbearably hideous, but I read the letter nestled tenderly at the end of this short story in a dim and lonely launderette, at 7am in the morning, delirious with insomnia and sick at heart, and it felt like being seen, like being known, like being loved. I read it once, twice, thrice, more times than I can comfortably confess, and I cried because it was such a relief to feel anything at all—let alone everything.Link to the short story: here.

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”― W.B. YeatsIn the space of a few paragraphs, the author had me wholly invested in Nadia and her perplexing pocket predicament. This sparkling story is chock-full of fizz with an exquisite finish!If you can spare ten minutes, please don’t miss this little nibble of delight.It’s free to read Here.Thank you to Kevin, Debbie, Cheri, and Laysee, for sharing this jewel!

Sometimes all you need is to know that you are not alone, that someone cares — even if it is in a strange and inexplicable way that may involve interdimensional holes or multiverses or something equally unknowable.And who knows what you may pull out of your pocket? Even if it’s not a pocketful of sunshine, it still may be something to show you that someone cares.(One day, as a dirt-poor college student I pulled a twenty out of my pocket that I swear I never put there. Maybe it was a gift of love...

It begins with a piece of fudge, this short story shared in seven pages, a mystery of sorts, a woman – Nadia – begins to find odd things in her coat pocket. This first ‘find’ doesn’t raise too questions in her mind, although she hated fudge and can’t imagine how it came to be in her pocket. And then a lipstick in a shade she’d never wear, and after that one after another, other items randomly appear. A quirky and endearing story.Many thanks to Laysee, whose review prompted me to read this. Layse...

Oh, this was just beautiful. I love whimsical little stories with a bit of unexplainable magic, and this was exactly that, accompanied by wonderfully comforting themes of being okay with not knowing things and being loved for who you are in the space you exist in. So short, yet so impactful—I loved this.

EXCERPT: Warda poured tea for them in her office while Tessa asked question after question.“When did this start?”“Oh, a year or so ago, give or take.”“And did you ever lose any of these things?” Tessa showed her a list of things that had come out of Nadia’s pockets, but Warda smiled and shook her head.“No. None of those ever belonged to me; I do not think any of the things I have put in my pockets have come out of Nadia’s. I see why you’re asking, but I don’t think it works that way.”“Why not?”

*3.5 stars *When Nadia begins to pull strange and random objects from her pockets, she’s completely bemused - she has no idea how they got there, so what on earth is happening - is someone playing tricks on her? What began with a harmless piece of fudge, became much more serious when she produces a gun from her pocket! Eventually, Nadia approaches a scientist friend, who carries out experiments, in order to discover what this phenomenon is. A very short but interesting story, here’s the free lin...

A piece of fudge.A tube of red lipstick.A map of Syria.A pin.A paintbrush. These are just a few of the things that Nadia mysteriously finds in her pockets. It’s a strange, but lovely very short story and you have to read it, even if only to discover the the thing that Nadia finds in her pocket at the end of the story. Don’t cheat - you have to read the whole thing and it will take you ten minutes or so and take you to the beauty of this last thing.Thanks to Cheri, Sara, Kevin, Sandy, Laysee, Deb...

Nadia is puzzled. Of late she has been finding objects in the pockets of her clothes. They do not belong to her - initially insignificant things like a piece of fudge, then more esoteric things, and then something alarming. Could her friends be playing a trick on her? No one admitted to contributing to the steadily growing number of objects that keep surfacing in her pockets. It drives her to distraction. What should she do?How did this happen? More importantly, why is this happening? What does

“i don’t know you, but i wish i did; i wish i could tell you how much i love you, love your eyes for reading this, love your hands for holding my words.” the fact that i read this on valentine’s day is self-care.do you know the feeling whenever you’re rummaging through a jacket pocket, your jeans, or a purse that’s been lying around in the back of your closet, and out pops some unexpected cash?i LOVE that. it’s like past-me gave future-me a little gift. it never feels like i lost it i

Less than seven months ago, but a lifetime and world away (before Covid-19 was a serious worry), I fell in love. In love with Red and Blue, and the purple prose of their time-travelling epistolary love story, This Is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (see my review HERE). When carol. posted a review and link to this short story by one of the authors, I read it almost immediately.Put your hand in your pocket This story is more conventional in its language and narrativ...

“I wrote this for you, for only you, for you alone out of the millions.” a very beautiful and powerful reminder to maybe not fear the unknown. and to always remember that we are never alone, and never unseen, and we always deserve to be heard (and loved). ➽ uncanny magazine Blog | Instagram | Youtube | Ko-fi | Spotify | Twitch

"We shed as we pick up, like travellers who must carry everything in their arms, and what we let fall will be picked up by those behind.’ There are so many of us, so many travellers.”Pocketsby Amal El-Mohtar Short stories can sometimes have us dancing in the clouds.I occasionally read short stories, but I think this is the first time I read two short stories in the same day that have that whimsical and delightful feeling of being a kid again.And it is a really nice feeling.This book was recommen...

"Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, save it for a rainy day." —Perry ComoAlthough I've posted an update stating that I shan't be reading or reviewing throughout autumn and winter, I vaulted the electrified fence to read this ten-minute gem. My thanks go to Debbie, who prodded me in the ribs with her pogo stick, demanding suggesting I read it.I'm pleased to have done so. The tale grabbed me by the tail from the start and had me beguiled by the finish.Nadia, an individual who knows

7 pages of glee made me grab my pogo stick!Magical realism and I usually aren’t buds, but I raise my hand and yell EXCEPTION! EXCEPTION! This little story utterly wowed me. It’s about a woman who keeps finding things in her pockets, starting with a piece of fudge, and then lipstick. The writing is brilliant, the story funny and profound, the imagination out of this world. It moves fast like a river, thoughts all sparkly and sharp. I would give it 6 stars if I could. It took only ten minutes to r...

I don’t usually read science fiction but this short story attracted me when I saw reviews from GR friends. The characters are two young women students and an older woman who is a university music librarian. One of the young women finds things appearing in her pocket. At first, a piece of fudge and a lipstick,; later things like a trombone. (It’s science fiction, remember, lol.) Her young friend, training to be a scientist, conducts some physical experiments to try to help her figure out what’s g...

4★“The first strange thing Nadia pulled from her pocket was a piece of fudge. It was a perfectly ordinary piece of fudge. But Nadia hated fudge, and couldn’t imagine how she’d come to be carrying it around.”Anyone who’s lived with small children will know what it’s like to find some random item in their pocket. Little kids sometimes get tired of holding something, see a handy adult with a gaping pocket (or purse), and ‘park’ their toy or sticky lolly to save for later.This isn’t that. There are