At first, Gina thought the day was cloudless, but, leashing Tilda and stepping outside, she saw the entire sky was one diffuse, glaring white cloud. She fished around in her tote bag for sunglasses. Poor Tilda, blind and incontinent, barked… Continue Reading
It is dark when you leave class today: twenty minutes late out of what is already a night class, having stopped to ask the professor a question about Murphy’s Law. The campus is empty in a way that you’ve only… Continue Reading
She says a prayer before she steps inside, a prayer for the restless, then crosses the threshold and announces, “I am here.” Immediately, the atmosphere in the room shifts, and a quiet settles over the house for the first time… Continue Reading
Thirty minutes past his mother’s scheduled appointment time, Milovan looks to the clock, pleads with it, says a prayer. He sees that it tilts to the left so that the “1” sits where the “12” should be. Or maybe his… Continue Reading
The bridge to my mother erodes in word-shaped chunks: broken sentences and hesitant pauses. Frustration traces the downward curve of Ma-Ma’s mouth, a bow with no arrows left to fire. “Na ge,” she says. Brittle fingers tug at her hair,… Continue Reading
On the first bite, you know they’ve used cyanide and you think: they’re finally trying to kill me. You’ve always looked ahead into the raveling naughts and ones that pattern the future. You’ve followed each symbol, each theorem through your… Continue Reading
I’m hanging from the railing of a deck. At a chateau in a state where I don’t live. On a vacation that I was coerced to come on. Pissing and shitting my pants. A man reaches for me. Our wives… Continue Reading
It’s close to ten years since I last saw him. And now, here he is, standing where I need to be standing. And there’s a part of me that wants to hide behind a tree, to wait until he’s gone.… Continue Reading
I hadn’t seen much of Neil for several years. At the end of primary school he’d gone private and I’d gone comprehensive. I didn’t think of him often but a time came when my friends were being dicks, not bullying… Continue Reading
Some days it seems like it’s been years. Some days I think she’ll be right back. I get to crying, and can’t stop. It’s not like me. I know she would want me to look out for David, so that’s… Continue Reading