“There it is!” I pointed and Elsie wriggled back into me. We splashed our feet, soaking the hems of our dresses, giggling and pretend-squirming away. But then we dipped our toes back in, waiting to see it again: slimy skin,… Continue Reading
Madison thought she was something special because her parents bought her a peacock. We were both in eighth grade and lived on opposite sides of a street that dead-ended on the lake. In sixth grade, she told everyone that her… Continue Reading
Louisa was washing her hands after spreading yards of mulch when she noticed it: the diamond in her wedding ring was gone. Why hadn’t she taken it off first, or worn gloves? The jeweler eyed the ring’s fractured prong. “Was… Continue Reading
When doctors deliver bad news, they travel in packs. They sweep into the ward, in groups of three or four, to relay test results, to tell you that your course of treatment has been unsuccessful, that some measure of you… Continue Reading
Bake a loaf of bread for your father, for your mother. If you create enough silent acts, you’ll keep yourself from screaming. Wash the dishes fold the laundry feed the chickens mow the grass plow the barely-thawed soil dig your… Continue Reading
It’s just another one of those mid-afternoon lulls in the office when a peripheral vision notification pops up. It’s your beauty tracker app telling you that you’ve only gotten 2 instances of beauty so far today. Puzzling, since you know… Continue Reading
It was Jaimie’s turn to draw a card. The back of the downturned deck shimmered turquoise in the candlelight in Clara’s darkened bedroom. Turquoise was Jaimie’s favourite colour. As she stared at it, the surface of the card expanded and… Continue Reading
Until my sister decided to become a mother, our lives had been mirror images with five-second delays. I was the first to lose a tooth. She was the first to lose her virginity. In elementary school, we both had abdominal… Continue Reading
Henry carried the last of his stuff, a small shoe box filled with toy cars, into Aunt Karen’s house. He didn’t want to be there, but his dad left, and his mom said she needed a support something or other.… Continue Reading
“Uh, I’m not supposed to have people over when Mom isn’t home,” Callum said as Ashlyn pushed past him and climbed the steps to his back door. His stomach clenched at the thought of breaking one of Mom’s rules already,… Continue Reading