When he returned from the war his parents had moved, leaving no forwarding address.

Even with the wild current and profusion of debris hitting the boat the gamblers refused to leave.

The inmates' argument as to exactly what the white whale in Moby Dick represented ended in a full-scale prison riot.

The potentate realized too late just how subservient he had become to the ballerina.

Clara was as lonely as a carnival before sundown.

The sunset couldn't come fast enough.

Some days he would catch himself thinking about his father, now alone and slowly dying in a decrepit rest home, but would never find the time to visit.

The departure was delayed just long enough for them to fall in love over overpriced drinks and peanuts.

The old general was still a stern taskmaster, but instead of commanding men he barked orders at his several overweight and aloof cats.

I recalled the feeling of freedom I felt as a child on those Saturdays when I was allowed to get on my bike and ride, to fly through the streets of our town without a destination.

Eventually even the pain got boring.

Brotherly love kept Jody from administering the coup de grâce.

The train wasn't slowing down.

He lived and died by the dice.

Once the visions stopped Sheila turned away from all things spiritual.

"After revenge, what's left?" Luke wondered, his gun still warm.

Bernadette set her car on fire, left a fake suicide note and went off to join the circus.

The pretzel factory's owner was a nervous sort, his stomach constantly in knots.

The island,bleak and foreboding,was to be there home for four years.

"Things could get dicey for you if you don't play ball," the prosecutor whispered in his ear.

"He second-guessed himself for the last time," mumbled Bart as he stood over the body.

Sorrow followed the family like an abandoned, but tenacious pet.

The accountant's wife was a spendthrift.

A new coat of paint couldn't hide the truth.

Paul drank down his tall boy and continued to pour the gas throughout the house.

Their enmity made the news fun again.

As "florist to the stars" José never had time to stop and smell the roses.

The tear in his pants kept getting worse, but instead of trying to hide his sartorial slit, Sid wore it with such panache that a trend among the school's elite was born.

Kelly really thought they were in love, but after Pat used her as a human shield during a standoff, she began to have her doubts.

"They did not listen," he told me from behind the glass partition, "and they suffered as a result."