Shelly loved Mama’s garden. It didn’t have as many pretty flowers as Gramma’s, but it also didn’t have so many thorns. Shelly hated thorns. Their vindictive little spikes would scrape her arms and legs whenever she tried to explore, patterning… Continue Reading
His face was almost expressionless as he was watching the violinist perform on the stage of the small theatre. His eyes were watching the musician’s every move and inside them you could discern a desire so intense it could top… Continue Reading
I have some advice for all you struggling parents out there, and even those who aren’t struggling. No matter what, love your kids, even if they’re ungrateful little monsters. Yeah, yeah, I know. It goes without saying. Well, sometimes you… Continue Reading
Emma Hawthorne loved the old and picturesque, and authorities and guidebooks agreed that Dartwood was one of the best-preserved sixteenth-century manor houses in southern England. Erected on the site of a suppressed Benedictine monastery by one of Henry VIII’s favourites… Continue Reading
In the river when I floated free, friendly fellow fish warned me of human and hook. I am proud to say I did not believe them. I knew air-world existed above water-world. I knew about bear. I saw bear’s massive… Continue Reading
There are days when the shadows at water’s edge corral nothing but a chiaroscuro stippling of the pond’s murky surface; on other days, they gather curious creatures, some predatory. Today, the shadows cache a twelve-year-old girl, crouched beneath a willow… Continue Reading
Most guys give you chocolates for your birthday. Or flowers. Johnny got me a Madagascar hissing cockroach. Now, there are websites that let you name a cockroach after a loved one. No, Johnny actually gave me one, plus its fish… Continue Reading
A roach runs across my cutting board. Scurries down the drain. I flick on the garbage disposal. Listening to the crunch and bunch of matter satisfies. Wish a garbage disposal would churn through my mind. Pulverize my thoughts and feelings.… Continue Reading
Marcela pinched the corner of the afghan as if to fold it, lay it atop the bed, and leave the room. It was morning, which meant it was time for something. She thought a while, dumbfounded again at the misery… Continue Reading
“Yikes,” said Silence when her partner appeared in the secret library with a dirt-smeared, naked, hairless doll with picture nails through its eyes, hands, feet, and heart. “That’s a poppet!” “It’s not a puppet, silly,” said Ethan. “It’s a Thoroughly… Continue Reading