Short Stories She, Her, Them Jon Hillenbrand, October 18, 2019March 5, 2020 Upon the completion of time, the architect looked upon its work and with a perfect eye noticed a gap. The gap could not have been visible to a corporeal being, but from the perspective of timeless existence it flowed from the moment of an angel’s betrayal outward as a fissure…
Short Stories Moonrise Jon Hillenbrand, October 16, 2019October 16, 2019 The man gathered up his equipment at twilight. He pulled on his riding boots with the tarnished brass buckles over his dusty blue jeans with the white worn spots on the thighs. He knew it would be cold so he pulled a black wool sweater over his holey cotton knit…
Poetry Crystallized Porcelain Jon Hillenbrand, January 27, 2019January 27, 2019 Crystallized porcelain alights on the window of the poet, waiting for him to notice. He watches as the sun melts her just enough to fall away and glide on the wind like a smoke. She turns, rises and falls like a bedroom breath, glittering through his life, a chaos of…
Short Stories The Attic Jon Hillenbrand, January 18, 2019October 17, 2019 What do you do when a pretty girl asks you to write a poem about her? You lumber back upstairs, jingle the keys in your pocket and find the skeleton key that was sticking down out of the hole in your pocket. You crack open the shackle that’s yoked your…
Poetry The Ballerina in the Lantern Jon Hillenbrand, April 27, 2018April 27, 2018 Clad in delicate peach and orange, she begins her dance with a curved bow to a curious audience.
Short Stories Holiday Shopping Jon Hillenbrand, December 22, 2017October 17, 2019 The prettiest girl in the world is in front of me in line at the Barnes and Noble. Her eyes are a coal black starlit night, contained in the soft folds of a milky coffee meringue. A Roman nose on a petit face and I finally understand ancient beauty, the…
Thoughts “Don’t Shoot! We’re with the Science Team!” Jon Hillenbrand, September 12, 2017October 17, 2019 Inspired by the PC Gamer article about save games… When I was a kid, I was playing Half-Life with my dad watching in the chair next to me. I had been fight and hiding from the Marines for a while now, listening to them talk about me, hiding in vents…
Dreamscape Series The Sinking Ship and the Bag of Money Jon Hillenbrand, August 4, 2017 The cargo ship plowed through the tall waves like a skyscraper on its side. My partner and I scrambled over the red and orange shipping containers buried deep in the cargo hold, bare bulbs lunging overhead. We found the two containers, opened them and discovered the black bags. There were…
Short Stories The Long Dark – Introspection Jon Hillenbrand, June 27, 2017October 16, 2019 This story is in reference to the game The Long Dark from Hinterland Games. The player assumes the role of a crash-landed bush pilot who must survive the frigid Canadian wilderness after a global disaster. The man sat for a spell looking into the fire. He thought about the day, how he…
Short Stories The Page in the Desert Jon Hillenbrand, April 28, 2017October 17, 2019 Somewhere north of the city with no name, a speeding car traces a lone arc across the horizon. The desert continues before them and behind them forever. The car is full of students on a documentary expedition. The engine growls to a stop with tires shedding a hail of stones upon the…
Short Stories The Time Travelers Notebook – MedBotRX Jon Hillenbrand, April 9, 2017October 16, 2019 In 2019, a hospital on the north side of Chicago was instructed by a court ruling to put warning labels on their elevator doors. “This facility is co-run by an Artificial Intelligence. Ride elevators at your own risk.” The origin of this is very interesting. Apparently, around this time, AI was…
Thoughts Haunted House Theories Jon Hillenbrand, December 12, 2016October 17, 2019 A few years back, I rented a haunted house. I didn’t know it was haunted when I first rented it. You would think it would be exciting. Well, it’s not. It sucks. One time, I heard all of the pots and pans fall from a ceiling mounted rack into my…
Thoughts A Thought of My Own Sourcing Jon Hillenbrand, December 12, 2016October 17, 2019 All original thought is just randomness grabbed from an infinite database in our brains. And it’s all written down already in the Library of Babel. Did we create the language or did the language already exist and we created meaning? If all words and imagery exists independently of meaning, does…
Short Stories The flame Jon Hillenbrand, November 27, 2016October 17, 2019 The boy looked upon the candle as it continued to melt the flame slowly dying. He held it as if he were holding small child or an injured bird.
Poetry Windowed Night Jon Hillenbrand, October 26, 2016 Falling rain Lighting up By passing cars And flashy bars Like lightning bugs In mason jars As far’s the eye can see The sea makes a plea To be the sky To fly But heavy water falls In walls Like posters stuck to China’s walls The distant land As complex…