As an adult with grown children, Bernie found he missed his deceased parents more than ever. He could see his father in his reflection: nose, eyes, and lips. Perhaps in response to the wave of sentiment, he occasionally dreamed at… Continue Reading
On the first night of vacation I see a human silhouette out the cabin window — a horror film come true. Should I run for the pistol or call for help? Midway through phoning the authorities my wife stops me,… Continue Reading
I told him that when the candy jar was empty, we were over. It was a joke, of course, my way of lightening our eventual breakup. Despite the fact I was quite certain we’d get married, have kids, do all… Continue Reading
Abraham Lincoln does not understand why people believe he is honest all the time. He is not an honest man. He falls short when people meet him in person. They may believe he is honest through his speeches, but his… Continue Reading
How could anyone sleep through that? He sounded like an asthmatic chainsaw. The sound wasn’t the worst of it, though. It was those gaps, when the sound ceased, where she hoped that maybe, just maybe he’d stopped — snoring, breathing.… Continue Reading
The hum of the television, the chatter on cellphones, the unrelenting bass beat of the music made Alex uneasy. His eyesight was going, his hips ached, but his hearing remained fine. One of the little jokes God plays on old… Continue Reading
“There’s a house on Macky Ave for sale.” My husband looks up from his phone. “Really?” “Hmm.” I focus on buttering my toast. “On the sunny side.” “Well, we better go take a look.” I shrug. “Bound to be too… Continue Reading
The fire had been burning for eight hours, but the earth was still not soft enough. Just as Harold predicted. It had been an unforgiving winter: sub-zero temperatures for months, ice storms, and buckets of snow. It had taken Harold… Continue Reading
“We could always just run it over,” Patricia said. I wasn’t paying much attention. The November sun was smudgy white against a harsh gray sky, and I was thinking how very lonely the sun looked, how barren eons of existence… Continue Reading
Monday, staring at lychees in the specialty shop, Zuberi wondered who had murdered the snitch. And how he and Rosa could have quarreled over something so — impersonal. They were an ideal couple, had met in their late thirties, wiser.… Continue Reading