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
George watches Murial slurp pea soup. Murial’s wheelchair faces him from across the nursing home cafeteria filled with residents eating their lunch. Murial’s gray hair shines, but her brown eyes are vacant, and her thin lips hang open. The soup… Continue Reading
No matter how many years pile on, I’ll always remember that little girl perched, super-still, on that pristine, red park bench. I must’ve been around her age, seven or eight — maybe, young enough to wonder how a person could… Continue Reading
In summer, the soles of Eva’s feet were permanently stained crimson from playing barefoot under the huge mulberry tree that to her ten-year-old eyes seemed to take up a full half of her backyard. Every day she ran outside, squashing… Continue Reading
Alice had no idea he had taken the photo, at least not at the time. She would see it later though, after it was developed, and they were both married to different people. He must have taken the snap as… Continue Reading
I wake to find the wretchlings waiting for me. It’s always the same. Their red-eyed shadowy forms hover all around. They sap my energy until getting out of bed seems a monumental task. Then, once I do, the wretchlings whisper… Continue Reading