Bringing you stories, book and game reviews, writing tips, and updates from author S.G. Baker.
Sweet, floral perfume hung on the stale air of a forgotten warehouse. Wafting among corroded pipes, which wove their way along a high ceiling and around long, dusty windows. Drifting through the trash and dead leaves scattered across a concrete floor. Reflecting off once-white walls and old, broken furniture. I was following a trail of … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Making Change
As I made to step off the sidewalk of a sunny city, a car with dark windows pulled to a stop right in front of me. I scurried back up onto the walk, frowning at having my way forward blocked. But as I made to step around the intruding car, I peered within and paused, … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Take Nothing
In a wide-open field of long summer grass stood a lonesome table, covered in gray cloth and bearing a shallow wicker basket. A single shady tree overhung the table, inviting in the over-bright afternoon sunlight. Sweat beaded on the back of my neck and grass crunched beneath my feet as I approached. Behind me lay … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – A Summer Offering
On a clear desert night, the crush of shifting sand from just outside my tent woke me. I lay on my bedroll in the dark, listening to the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching. The gait of my visitor... lurched. Or hopped. When it stopped next to my tent, the shadow of a lengthy, humanoid shape … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Name Calling
They arrived as the full moon crested the horizon like an enormous gold coin. Silhouetted people in ones and twos materializing beneath the spreading limbs of the Memory Tree. Their outlines wavered and shimmered beneath the hazy moonbeams, solidifying as the night grew darker. I wasn't the only person sitting beneath the boughs, so I … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – The Memory Tree
Beneath a brightly lit city, a yawning tunnel ran away into darkness. As if to avoid attracting attention to the area, no light spilled across the wide concrete steps leading downward. Yet at regular intervals, the footsteps of one or two people passing below rang out, telling those walking along the railing above that a … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Insecurity
When the waters rose and swept between the pillars of an innocuous shrine, it was said a voice could be heard by those standing beneath its graceful wooden arch. Intrigued by this rumor, I arrived there just as the rainy season petered off and stood where calm water met grass, toes bare, gazing outward at … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Whispering Waters
A ruined city glimpsed between thick clouds, spires and skyscrapers towering above the earth, breaking through the eternal fog enveloping its forgotten world. Sunlight poking through the windows illuminated dangling innards -- wires and ventilation ducts. Cold and empty and beckoning explorers and wanderers alike. I stood somewhere within the fog layer but still outside … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Lost to Hidden
While ducking under the bone-bare branches of a snowy wood, I came face to face with a pale barn owl. It perched on an aspen branch at the exact height to be eye level with me when I stepped around the tree's trunk. I found myself close enough to count the small feathers on its … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Dreams of Home
From a nearby pond, I heard a very small argument. More of a berating, actually. A tiny voice pierced the peace of the meadow where I lay napping. "You must fly!" it shrilled. "How else can we be together?" With a groan, I sat upright, immediately spotting the speaker. A handsome blue and black butterfly … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Macabre Collaboration
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