We are sitting on two iron chairs you pulled from the rubble, watching the dying, honey-coloured flames caress the remains of the smouldering café, the metal at our backs still warm. Dark smoke, filled with the sharp scent of burnt… Continue Reading
They put their hands on Mitra’s shoulder and told her everything will be alright. Her grandmother, who she hadn’t seen for some years now, broke down when she saw her, holding both her hands and crying into them. Her friends… Continue Reading
She says a prayer before she steps inside, a prayer for the restless, then crosses the threshold and announces, “I am here.” Immediately, the atmosphere in the room shifts, and a quiet settles over the house for the first time… Continue Reading
Some days it seems like it’s been years. Some days I think she’ll be right back. I get to crying, and can’t stop. It’s not like me. I know she would want me to look out for David, so that’s… 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
When Johnny was ten he stole his father’s screwdrivers and hammered them into trees so he could climb them. He took the powder out of his dad’s bullets for the bombs he made to strap onto chickens. He got his… Continue Reading
78 days ago. That morning, I had burned my tongue on my coffee which already had too much cream in it. I remember this because the pain was something that I could focus on. Something besides his leaving. Usually, when… Continue Reading
I was scratching under the stiff collar of my Sunday dress when Toby, our bulldog, growled. He raised his hackles and stared into our empty fireplace. That’s when the two round lights floated right out of the chimney. They spun… Continue Reading
The room is dark, nearly black. There ‘s no electricity. The sound of sex from the next room overrides the breathy silence of bodies passed out around me. I try to keep warm, snuggling with my friend, Alicia. We share… Continue Reading
There’s a dog in the street. A cocker spaniel, I think. His head is flat and a tire track runs down the middle of his back. When Marilyn and I were first married, we rescued a cocker spaniel from the… Continue Reading