Her father, gulping his whisky, insisted the three puppies remain outside because “there is nothing cute about stepping in shit.” No one in the neighborhood saw the mother of the tiny dogs and most presumed she was dead. Some saw… Continue Reading
Spraying machine gun bullets lit up the hillside as Zhang dodged behind a rock to protect himself. His foe, the American 49th division, was fighting north of what would be later the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). He had been drafted as… Continue Reading
After our closing, mail intended for the prior owners continued to arrive. At my wife’s suggestion, we hand printed “return to sender” and dropped the letters in the blue collection box near the Panera. The junk—the flyers, directories, advertisements—we tossed.… Continue Reading
Cuck0o88 said to close the lid on little Pippa. It felt a bit odd, but everyone clapped and I went for it. When Pippa first sniffed her new suitcase-turned-cushioned-bed, her tail wagged left-right-left-right, like a pendulum on meth. My lifeline,… Continue Reading
Walking in, I wing my arms and strum the strings that line the walls. Dan’s racked his guitars by resonance, tinny to golden. Discordant yet beautiful, jangles the hum, like a gateway to limbo. I’ve suggested he tune them to… Continue Reading
Home is where the heart is. That’s the saying my mother liked, cross-stitched and hung in the hallway. Now I wonder—if I don’t have a home, am I heartless? I was on the move, deciding to sleep in a real… Continue Reading
“It’s me! Your granddaughter, Rachel.” She leaned against the door jam, fingering her shotgun. “I never saw you before.” I nearly cried. “Don’t you remember me?” “Don’t remember much from before three years ago.” “Why not?” She pointed to a… Continue Reading
I rented the same beach house as the one we vacationed at fourteen years ago. That was the last summer for the five of us, the one before the children began disengaging from Tyler and I. The one of our… Continue Reading
Tommaso balanced four glasses of beer, stretching his arthritic fingers to keep them from spilling. He placed one each in front of his old friends Sergio and Enrico and left one at an empty seat on the table.All three men… Continue Reading
Ellen called a few weeks ago from her hospital bed, demanding a eulogy. How does one say “no” to such a request from a neighbor and fellow parishioner? Perhaps the most honorable way to perform these duties is to describe… Continue Reading