I saw it while taking out the garbage, the biggest beetle I’d ever seen. It lay on its back, black and shiny like plastic wrap. The insect kicked its segmented legs in the air like a futile attempt to ride… Continue Reading
Every day after morning chores, after kissing his mother goodbye, after leaving his little brother and sister to sleep comfortably and dream a little longer, Felix swallows a cold dipper of water from the well and trudges the long miles… Continue Reading
The winter air ached in her throat. She pulled her scarf tighter and wished for more functional gloves. He had said these ones were delicate just like her. Leather with long barely-lined fingers. She bent them at the knuckle. “Are… 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
Swinging Statues was a game our older cousin Ella taught us. “I’ll show you how to play,” she said, gripping us by both hands and spinning us laughing, teetering, dizzily around and around and then letting us go. On the… Continue Reading
James slid further down in the driver’s seat of his worn-out Opel Kadett, lighting another cigarette, his hands shaking more than usual. The cigs were the only vice he still allowed himself. But they didn’t do much to calm his… Continue Reading
Papa comes home with a large white canvas and a brown paper bag filled with paints and brushes. He closes the cabin door behind him, shutting out the flurries, and shakes the snow from his hair. “Use these,” he says.… Continue Reading
The podium is uneven on the grassy outdoors, and Anthony feels it wobble slightly as he rests his notepad and palms atop it. The hum of the wind lilts as he clears his throat and loosens his black tie just… Continue Reading
One summer night in 1912, the village constable informed Abraham Abramowitz, age 18, that he was to report for conscription into the Czar’s army the following morning. This did not sit well with Abraham, since his Uncle Yitzhak had told… Continue Reading
When the bus dropped me off, I checked the mail for my grandma as I always did. In the stack, there was a letter for me, which felt odd and exciting. Letters don’t come often for most sixteen-year-olds. It was… Continue Reading