Detective Wendy Murtaugh walked through the door of the West Side Coin Shop. “Thank goodness you’re here!” exclaimed shop owner Carlton Clark. “My most valuable coin, a 1943 copper penny, is missing. I found a ransom note in its place.”… Continue Reading
“What time does it all kick off?” my sister asks me. At least I think that’s what she’s saying. She’s calling from another dimension, in another time. “I can barely hear you, Amelia,” I say. “You sound very far away.”… Continue Reading
All of a sudden Jake thought, “Enough!” Between the constant crash of balls into pins, the blinking, blinking, blinking of the goddamn lights they’d strung up everywhere, and the hoarse shouts of half-drunk players, the top of his head was… Continue Reading
The year Will and I played our best light prank ever was also the year we got caught. We’d been doing it since we were ten: switching out strings of Christmas lights for different colors, changing the positions of yard… Continue Reading
I don’t belong here, I hate this place. It’s too cold. I can’t find my way around and some days, everything looks the same. This place frightens me. There are things I don’t recognize, belongings, and they don’t belong to… Continue Reading
Max launched himself out of bed and raced into his parents’ bedroom bellowing, “Get up, get up already, today is my birthday!” The commotion continued as Max bounced around the apartment like a jackrabbit singing, “I’m five, I’m five, I’m… Continue Reading
I was driving through the city in a furious, gully-washing storm. It was 2 AM. Someone was waving me down. What the hell? It was a teenage girl, sitting in a wheelchair. Rain was practically dancing off the sidewalk. I… Continue Reading
Isabella rises at first light, as always. Fifty years in the same house. Seventy years with the same man, now passed. Nine children. Four boys, four girls, living. One boy dead. Drowned. Or was it a fire? “Aye,” she whispers,… Continue Reading
As an adult with grown children, Bernie found he missed his deceased parents more than ever. He could see his father in his reflection: nose, eyes, and lips. Perhaps in response to the wave of sentiment, he occasionally dreamed at… Continue Reading
Just an empty hallway. He closed the door. It had been aggravating timing, too. Rinsing the dish soap off, drying his hands, yelling “Hold on!” tripping over the clutter, yanking the door because it stuck. Another knock came. Yank! “Okay—”… Continue Reading