Niall Doherty 1 Grasping invisible grocery bags, I listen carefully to the lady at left. There are chuckles as she finishes speaking, then hands over a card and leaves me standing all alone. I take a breath and glance down to check the words. You’re at a party when a cute girl comes over and pukes on you. …
1 I hear from one mate who’s just had his first threesome, and another who thinks I’m crazy for passing up all the ass on offer here in Hong Kong. But I’m just not feeling it, no interest right now. And it’s nice in a way, not feeling that urge. I’ve often been a slave …
1 Traffic flows around us as we cross the street and head into the market, streams of scooters giving way to the smell of a million spices. Out back we find tubs of live crab and eel alongside a young man chopping toads with a meat cleaver. A short time later we’re back on the …
1 I feel like running away. I have my bags packed. But I pause bedside. I know that path out the door leads to a place lonely and twisted. So I stay. And we talk. I love that about us. We talk things out, leave nothing unsaid, work through the treacle. I say words I …
1 She’s close to tears watching Allan Savory speak, a man quite literally saving the world. After that I show her Maggie Doyne’s story, which leaves her speechless. I can relate. You watch such heroes and you feel half-inspired, half-worthless. There you are, well into adulthood and nothing much to be proud of, not compared to these people. …
1 One hundred and fifty-nine. That’s how many messages she’s sent me these past three weeks. Teary emoticons, pics of her on a beach, multitudes of miss-you’s. And I’ve responded to exactly none of them. I figured she’d just move on to some other dude if I stayed patient and silent. Perhaps I underestimated her. …
1 I’m outside the club. My wingman has stood me up. The easy option is to go home, get some rest, tomorrow’s another day. But I tell myself no, fuck it, I’ll never be here again. So in I go. First stop restroom. I sit on a throne and give myself a pep talk. When I …
1 Stepping out of the supermall and into that plaza, surrounded by the bright lights of the big screens and skyscrapers, people paying their respects at the shrine, others dining roadside, night fast approaching, gym muscles aching, an upbeat song in my ears. The whole scene never fails to give me warm pause, a moment …
27 She still couldn’t believe it, even after seeing me walk away. I read her bewildered text as I rode home on the skytrain and replied, “I’m sorry. I told you before. I don’t want sex with woman who has boyfriend or husband anymore. We can be friends, that’s all.” As I walked the final …
These were the first Momento-style vignettes I ever published, before I called them Momentos. Original title… Goodbye Nepal: 5 Months, 17 Stories I leave Nepal on Sunday. A few short stories from my time here… 1. With the power still out, the lift wasn’t an option, so I took the stairs down. Eventually I reached …