My mom gave me a little magic cocoa box for my fifth birthday, made of tin, with a snap lock to keep the cocoa safe. A year later, it still refills on its own. I drink cocoa every single day,… Continue Reading
The coffee’s good here at Sara’s Café, and at 7:45 in the morning the doughnuts are still bubbling in the fryers. That’s why I chose this place. Well, that and the fact that there’s hardly a soul in the building… Continue Reading
Of course I have a muse! Doesn’t everyone? Well, where the heck do you think all your wonderful ideas come from? Not from you — that’s for sure. My gosh, most people can’t even remember to put on matching socks… Continue Reading
She took one last look at the kitchen, making sure the burners were turned off. She was always inclined to leave everything neat and tidy. Nothing carelessly forgotten. No loose ends. Why should today be any different? After locking the… Continue Reading
Appa grew up in a little boat town in Kerala called Alleppey (pronounced al-ah-pee). He stayed on a little rice paddy farm and bought the essentials 6 months in advance from the boatmen who passed by. “When I was young,”… Continue Reading
Itzhak poured another finger of bourbon for the tragic man sitting in front of him. The people who came into his bar on Christmas Eve were almost always tragic. Drunks who’d alienated their families, old men with nobody left, or… Continue Reading
I was walking through downtown San Jose, passing the Convention Center, when I saw a man wearing a business suit, long overcoat, and bright red Converse sneakers. The suit looked like it fit him well, a bit rumpled in places,… Continue Reading
Before daybreak, the rising tide breached the top steps as Manjula opened the basement door. Murky brown water lapped gently amongst schools of Legos and drowned Barbies. Her screams woke the household, whose night had been disturbed by the ravaging… Continue Reading
He plucked his toothbrush from its perch, fixating for a moment on the black ceramic holder adhered to the tile wall just above the bathroom sink. He counted the holes: one, two, three — the recurring ache crept into his… Continue Reading
We had a little funeral today in secret. We didn’t tell the Brogdonians. No one was in the mood to explain why we had decided to hold this human ritual they barely understand now. For this. We didn’t tell the… Continue Reading