When I close my eyes, I can still see her. Before I go to bed, Alice, my cute little sister, dances behind my eyelids. When I throw my head back with a shot of vodka, Alice’s gap-toothed smile cheers me… Continue Reading
Jon’s morning world is dark and quiet. He moves in silence through the kitchen of his studio apartment, where he keeps the lights off to avoid waking his roommate. The near-vacant streets are soundtracked by his footsteps and the rustling… Continue Reading
Toast was too loud, and cereal even louder, and Julie was too hungry to stay asleep. She wanted to be out of the house by the time her father got up anyway. So she ghosted her way through the kitchen… Continue Reading
There’s lots of green, and it’s very bright, and that seems wrong. My head feels like a beehive, and there’s a slight hum, from crying or maybe gritting my teeth. There are lots of words, most of them heartfelt but they… Continue Reading
There’s a hole in my boot. I can feel the mud squelching in around my heel. It’s horrible and cold, making me limp a bit. I can feel it seeping through my sock. How much further to the enemy trenches?… Continue Reading
The wizard was digging through the Coopers’ trash again late Tuesday night. Jean watched from his second floor bedroom window as empty soup cans and bits of paper flew over the hunched shoulders of the cloaked, stooping figure. This was… Continue Reading
Him, in a gray coat and red scarf. Him, one hand on the gas pump, the other in his pocket. Him, winking at me while whistling a tune. Me, in the same blue hoodie and jeans I’ve been wearing for… Continue Reading
It had happened a thousand times over in Sam’s mind. Mr. Benson would stride into his office, knocking on the door as he opened it, not before. He would stand in the doorway, flattening one of those silly ties against… Continue Reading
Late on certain afternoons I often liked to climb into my small boat and row out into the pond near my cabin. Sometimes I played a flute I had carved from a hickory branch and watched the perch dart about… Continue Reading
Asha was my spur-of-the-moment walking buddy. She lived five houses away, and if one of us suddenly needed a break from our mom lives we’d give the other a call. Winter and summer we’d plod the two-mile loop, often grumbling… Continue Reading