Don’t go swimming if your pockets are filled with rocks. That’s the advice my father gave me just before he backed jerkily out of our driveway and putted down our suburban, tree-lined street with the sun glistening off the chipped… Continue Reading
Oregon’s teeming woods: an escape from New York City, from screens. Right now, there’s no wind, only the warm air and beaming sun. My lungs are open, my muscles eased, my mind glowing. “Ah!” Through a wall of trees, I… Continue Reading
Itzhak poured another finger of bourbon for the tragic man sitting in front of him. The people who came into his bar on Christmas Eve were almost always tragic. Drunks who’d alienated their families, old men with nobody left, or… Continue Reading
Emory ran the numbers and frowned: 20.1K Instagram followers, a 3.98 GPA, and zero boyfriends. How had she gone through four years of chemistry classes and emerged with only a handful of disastrous first dates? Picking up her glitter-encrusted phone,… Continue Reading
I’ve held hundreds of hands. The meaty palms of a baker. The calloused knuckles of rock climbers. The peeling cuticles of mothers with teething babies. I think the woman was a waitress. The scar of a burn framed the underside… Continue Reading
How to make friends Tips for making friends Time-waster games Ouija board Demon Demon videos How to summon a demon Where to buy candles Do grocery stores sell chicken hearts Satanic chants Hide from demon How to put demon back… Continue Reading
I manage to reach the mail room without encountering a living soul. It’s a relief when the locker’s largest compartment swings open, and the smile on the Amazon box greets me. I guide it into my arms. It’s bigger than… Continue Reading
She had a cactus in her back yard, but she had no friends. When the cactus bloomed silky white flowers, she would watch them from a lawn chair, all alone. She loved TV, but she had no friends. When her… Continue Reading
The burning golden ball creeps over the olive-colored tree line. Except this landscape isn’t linear. It’s circular. The landscape of his eyes when he spares a glance my way is an all-consuming black-hole encompassed by the yellow of his orbs… Continue Reading
Carter McCall never considered himself much of one for company until this Christmas, when the familiarity of a house full of people during the holidays was completely absent. Years past, he would make token appearances at the family gatherings at… Continue Reading