People’s obsession with goals, mission statements, work objectives. I never got it. Me, I followed the path of least resistance. I went to the first college that took me and accepted the first job offer. At the office, I did… Continue Reading
In the Eighth Grade at a Catholic School in Columbus, Ohio as I neared the age of fourteen, I had a couple things going for me. One, I knew a lot of stuff, primarily anything that had nothing to do… Continue Reading
Leaves fell, and the ghosts came out. I was sitting on the porch of my friend Marsha’s house. Her parents were away for the Halloween weekend, and she was throwing a party. Some zombies roamed up, carrying beer. As they… Continue Reading
The end of the world, or more precisely the end of human civilisation as we know it, didn’t come with apocalyptic suddenness and all-consuming hellfire. It approached us far more insidiously. This is how it happened. I had always been… Continue Reading
Stella took a deep breath of crisp autumn air and thought about how little Halloween had changed in the neighborhood where she grew up. Bands of costumed children roamed the streets as the last of the natural light faded. The… Continue Reading
You’re securing the doors and windows while I field-strip the Winchester. Live long enough after the world ends and survival becomes a tired old routine. You sleep while I keep watch, I vomit as quietly as I can while you… Continue Reading
They planned to pick up their contribution to the Halloween party on the way. So, Jean and Maryann — dressed as Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz, not without some argument on who would be Ethel — stopped at the mall.… Continue Reading
All her life Elle had danced. Her Mum had told her that when she was a toddler she would point her toes, raise her arms over her head and spin until she fell. “You were just like a little sugar… Continue Reading
Music throbs through Alexa’s chest. Her hands are raised high amongst a mass of waving arms and the sickening sweetness of too many different brands of deodorant. The heat is overbearing, but Alexa doesn’t mind. She’s close enough to see… Continue Reading
Fragrant lilac trees flank the lamplighter’s path. A lark’s song punctuates the dusky evening. The lamplighter carries a tall ladder and a lit wick through the flagstone-paved park. He moves from lamp to wrought-iron lamp, and sees to every one… Continue Reading