Another windblown day, the humps in the sand like mountains. There’s a scent in the breeze, fresh fish, or maybe shrimp. The smell came from near the water, but it would be worth it if he got there before any… Continue Reading
I gasp at the sound of my brother’s voice. Everything changed after he went missing. Dad died from grief and Mom shriveled into herself. Tommy went to law school and stayed gone, Kate ran wild with men and drugs, and… Continue Reading
SHE FELL from the sky, a daughter of the sun. She was many forms, how fiery. In Phoenicia, she wore a flame of feathers and lived as a phoenix. In Persia the thunderbird built a nest and burst into fire,… Continue Reading
I didn’t like to see her go like that, but perhaps it was for the best. Drowning’s meant to be a good way, but I don’t see how. All that salt water up the nose, and the panic. Though she… Continue Reading
Jenna opened the small box at the bottom of Oma’s closet. She began to cry when she saw the pair of bright pink sneakers, which she had loved as a child, was embarrassed by as a teenager, and respected her… Continue Reading
The wind blew in from the ocean. It bit and stung all that were in its way. The thin man’s nipples pushed up through his rough cotton shirt. His face was pinched beneath his beard’s wiry bush. But his hair… Continue Reading
Everyone knows the four rules of Punch Buggy: • If you start the game, you can’t be the first to quit. • Convertible bugs are worth two punches. • No blocking hits. • When playing with a girl, you don’t… Continue Reading
It’s gritty at the shore, gets between the toes. The lake waits, the skin of it blistering under a low-slung sun that makes mirrors of flat pebbles, the fastenings on bikinis, metal bottle tops. You think you see the sun’s… Continue Reading
Amanda hasn’t slept all night and now, up at dawn, the thought comes loud and clear: It was a mistake not to go. “You really missed something,” Sarah had said over the phone yesterday. “Most of the old crowd showed… Continue Reading
All those endless days spent analyzing and listening and fretting over every radio signal captured by Arecibo had broken my enthusiasm. The drone of static rising and fading; the computer graphics spiking and falling; the unrelenting sameness of it all… Continue Reading