Hekl walked the long way up to Stolen Mount. Snow was thick on the ground today, a mist of it playing in the air. He sunk his head back into a fur-backed hood as he rested for a moment on… Continue Reading
Stealing requires finesse, timing, and attention to detail. I was trying to figure out which attribute I lacked as police sirens wailed in the background. “Next time, we steal something lighter!” my wife said. It was an example of her… Continue Reading
The wishing tree is a twisted thorn on the brow of Mill Hill, one of those trees that has been shaped by centuries of wind into a crouching, defensive posture. The local school girls — of which I suppose I… Continue Reading
Andrea’s feet didn’t touch the floor. The chair creaked beneath her as she kicked her legs in time with the song in her head. Usually, she waited in places like this with her mother who would bring books for her… Continue Reading
Victor de Santos’ picture was everywhere but the man standing before me appeared taller and more sinewy than I’d expected. He radiated a presence no two-dimensional image could capture. The difference between a photo and the person was as profound… Continue Reading
Carol dreamt of flight. In sleep she flew past the city limits of her hometown, high above familiar schools and stores and offices. And up higher, where sky became space, became beyond, where there was room to fly, to spread… Continue Reading
The abandoned tannery loomed above Gil Hadrian as he dismounted his horse. The windowless brick building still threw off the smell of stale urine and other chemicals, even after sitting unused for almost four years. Gil squared his shoulders and… Continue Reading
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!” He stood at the bottom of the tower, tracking its stonework all the way up to the faint glow in a high window where he could see her silhouette moving against the light. “Rapunzel.… Continue Reading
We occupied the café, waiting, as always waiting, bathed in music constantly spinning from the Wurlitzer 1015, the Bubbler, the smells of bacon and coffee ever present. We waited on doom, on disaster, on mobilization to rescue the hapless. We… Continue Reading
“I want to be a witch,” said the girl. She was a young thing, plump and pale as milk, with watery eyes that barely qualified as blue. As ordinary-looking as it was possible for a child to be without turning… Continue Reading