Short Story – Sam Knight, Author

Mindfulness (Short Story)

I tell the lady at the front desk that it’s my first meditation session. It isn’t quite true; I’ve sat on pillows in my bedroom before and tried to think about nothing. I always ended up on my phone. Probably should have tried to silence it. This time I left my phone in the car. I’m unsuccessfully ignoring my anxiety. What if my mom calls and says dad’s had another heart attack? What if my job needs me immediately or else I’m fired? What if my wife calls and says she’s been in a car crash? No, she’d call 911 first. I made sure I told her to do that. That’s what I’d do. I tell the lady at the front desk it’s my first session. She says she knows, that I said so already. I think about my phone.

Vice (Short Story)

I am an exterminator. People call me when they have a pest that needs getting rid of. As such, I work with some unusual clients. It’s not atypical to be called to family mansions, churches, or cabins in the woods. One time I was even called to a yacht. That was one ugly night. I’ll spare you the details. I use only a few tools and my indomitable will. Occasionally some fire. Few things like fire.

16 Milliseconds (Short Story)

I can’t pinpoint exactly when I started wanting to rob a bank. Maybe it was a Saturday and I’d already done the Appalachian Trail two or three times. It could have been a Tuesday. That’s when I have breakfast in San Francisco before lunch in Maine. There’s a spot in Ellsworth called The Stormwind Cellar. Killer lobster roll, probably the best in the state. Anyway, I don’t remember when it was, but I knew I wanted to rob a bank.