Oscar stood in the atrium of the central branch of the city library. It was midnight and the only illumination came from amber lights along the walls and the red Exit signs, creating a surreal glow. Oscar inhaled the slight… Continue Reading
Once upon a time there was a village storyteller and the village depended on her to tell a story a day. A day didn’t start right without the storyteller’s story, so when the storyteller was ill, the villagers would bring… Continue Reading
Down McLaren, right on First. Argh, I know this friggin’ bus route off by heart. Haunt a bus, they said; it’ll be fun, they said. Sure, it’s fun for late-night-thrills but the monotony is going to make me lose it.… Continue Reading
His mother wore oven mitts as she wrapped him in aluminum foil for his first day of school. She placed welding goggles over his eyes and smiled down at him. “Be yourself and try to make friends, okay, Billy?” Billy… Continue Reading
Joey Huff’s parents, the only parents he’d ever known, were childless, near 50, with little exposure to children when they brought him home from the adoption agency. They were so happy that they spoiled him from the get-go and, from… Continue Reading
Honey, come in, come in. Set yourself down in that old rocker to the side of my bed. It’s good to see a young face around here. Help yourself to a cookie out of that tin if you’re hungry. So… Continue Reading
Benny stood alone outside of the summoning circle that had taken him hours to make; light from the candles provided the only light in the wooded area behind his home. He had his feet firmly planted and his eyes locked… Continue Reading
Lord Dalius burst through the heavy oak doors of his keep, gasping for breath. He’d had to run lest too many people see him in such a state. “That wretched hag!” he shouted into the emptiness. With a quivering breath… Continue Reading
Sally limped into the shoe store with a hop-shuffle. A passerby had slid the store’s business card into her hand when her heel broke in a sewer grate. She wouldn’t go to her divorce proceedings on a broken shoe. The… Continue Reading
Melvin Fernsby buried his hands in his overcoat as he approached the one-room unit at the end of the cramped hallway. The thin carpet tried in vain to swallow noise from neighboring apartments: televisions squawking baseball games, infants crying, people… Continue Reading