Story Therapy

  Image by AI Fear tastes like stale bread Story: S A Spencer Author of Popular Fictions : The Pink Mutiny , The Black Waters , Dream In Shackles The notification popped up on my screen at exactly 10:07 a.m. “Urgent: 1:1 Meeting – Today 4 PM.” Sent by Mr. Raymond Carter , Head of Operations. Not my supervisor. Not even my supervisor’s supervisor. But the man who practically ran the entire Sydney office. My stomach dropped so fast I felt the chair sink with me. I stared at the invite. No agenda. No description. No hint. Just the word urgent , sitting there like a ticking bomb. My supervisor, Daniel, was on leave since yesterday. He had flown to Fiji for a week-long holiday, leaving me with a cheerful “You’ll be fine, mate!” and a thumbs-up emoji. Fine?          Mmmmm.  Fine? My hands were already sweating. I clicked the invite again, hoping some hidden message would magically appear. Nothing. Just the cold, emotionless calendar block....

  Image by AI Danger doesn’t always break in — sometimes it knocks. Story: S A Spencer Author of Popular Fictions : The Pink Mutiny , The Black Waters , Dream In Shackles Margaret heard the knock just as she was lowering herself into the armchair with her cup of tea. She paused, listening. The doorbell had stopped working again — she really needed to get that fixed once she felt better. She’d been waiting for the plumber to call before arriving, but perhaps he’d decided to drop by early. Tradies did that sometimes. She glanced at her phone on the coffee table. No missed calls. Maybe he forgot. Maybe she didn’t hear it ring. Her hearing wasn’t what it used to be. Poppy trotted to the door, tail wagging, ears perked. Margaret followed slowly, steadying herself on the hallway wall. She still felt a little light‑headed, but the thought of finally having hot water again lifted her spirits. She wouldn’t have to heat water in the kettle for bathing anymore. The thought alone made her sm...

  A vanished woman, a silent apartment, and a truth the city tried to forget. Story: S A Spencer Author of Popular Fictions :  The Pink Mutiny ,  The Black Waters ,  Dream In Shackles A Contemporary Short Story by S A Spencer (Complete in Nine Scenes). The Demolition She was already dead when the demolition crew broke through the heavy timber door. Unit 12B had been marked as completely vacant for years—a forgotten, dusty corner of a crumbling 1960s walk-up apartment building in Sydney’s inner west. The eager developers were rushing to raze the structure to replace it with premium glass towers and luxury rooftop pools. But when the crowbars forced open the frame, the crew froze. They found a skeleton curled quietly on a thin mattress, looking as if the woman had simply gone to sleep and never woken up. There were no signs of violence. No broken furniture. Just a dusty handbag containing a faded passport, a cancelled Opal travel card, and a bank statement dated exactl...