I was so tired. I arrived at my grandmother’s house, Z___abad, at a little past 3pm. It was a cool mid-March evening and the slight chill in the air felt soothing. I made my way up the broad walkway towards… Continue Reading
Insects always died beneath the paisley curtains of my childhood bedroom. It never bothered me to see the dried-up bodies of ladybugs in the dust of the hardwood. Their rust-colored exoskeletons were amusing to play with, making a satisfying pop… Continue Reading
We’ve made our way from the station to post in La Mirada. The call comes in as a stabbing. “Head for Santa Fe Springs,” I tell Armando, typing the address into Google Maps. As is too often the case, the… Continue Reading
Tom hardly noticed the old man. Nothing was unusual about someone sitting by the side of the bike path and enjoying the bright sunshine of the late spring day. But the man raised his head and called out, “Is this… Continue Reading
When my son was small we went on a glorious beach holiday. The weather was perfect, the sands golden and the water a shimmering blue. Everything was just the right temperature. Things were so good we bought a kite on… Continue Reading
Bill died early Saturday morning. He wanted chicken tortilla soup for lunch. His fever was gone and his throat was just a little scratchy. We were advised home quarantine since his COVID symptoms were mild. He tested positive and I… Continue Reading
Having been a server at Izzy’s Diner for nearly twenty years, Betty thought she had seen it all: from baby showers to drunken brawls in the parking lot. But most of her work days were the same. The smell of… Continue Reading
Sand rides up my butt. If I sit still it doesn’t bother me too much; only when the car goes over a bump do I feel itchy. I drag my hands across my wet bathing suit, still sticky from the… Continue Reading
I told the officer that Jovanovic had been a union organizer before the war but nobody ever bothered him, not even once. Why’s that? “Good question,” nodded the officer and jotted down something in his notebook. “And what kind of… Continue Reading
The Adventures of Junie and Chee Junie and Chee were sitting in the grass on the shady side of her house and admiring their ant farm when Junie told him the ants tasted salty. Chee’s immediate reaction was, “You ate… Continue Reading