Orange light beamed across my eyes through a gap in the vertical blinds where my cat had yanked out one of the vinyl strips weeks or months earlier. I was coaxed awake in the otherwise dark room by the familiar… Continue Reading
The girl on the corner has made paper cranes for as long as anyone can remember. Last month, one of them came to life. Now live cranes are everywhere. Walking our crowded street, pecking at litter for scraps of value.… Continue Reading
“It’s left foot forward and two steps back.” Cecily looks at her feet. She’s six and a half — seven next Wednesday. Leo says you have to know your left from your right by the time you’re seven or you’ll… Continue Reading
Captain Montgomery Ffitch (retired) finished pouring pine needles into the bee smoker and switched off the television. He’d been disheartened to hear the lockdown was due to end. Bojo and his government cronies were itching to open the country up… Continue Reading
Leslie surreptitiously looked out her window at the new neighbor across the street. Given his age she guessed he was recently divorced. But then, given the full furnishings he was unloading, perhaps a widower downsizing. So young. A shame. She… Continue Reading
I confronted Mr Creepings on the stairs. “Have you seen my dog?” His thin lips twisted into a smile. “Did you lose your Pomeranian?” “She’s vanished,” I said. “I think she was killed…” Mr Creepings scratched dirt from under his… Continue Reading
When I reached my fifth birthday, my mum and dad took me into the front room. They had prepared a surprise. I tried to tug at the old grey blanket they had draped over my present and it crashed to… Continue Reading
Teardrops of snow danced in the night to the melody of the wind, spiraling toward the earth by the thousands. Angela watched the storm by candlelight from the window in her living room, sipping hot chocolate. She figured the candy… Continue Reading
“This is stupid,” Burt said. He walked behind his wife down the hill. The darkness fell from the sky like an old lady in her shower. “I don’t see why,” Cleo said. “We heard a bang and now we’re checking… Continue Reading
On the morning Bill Somers put his dog down, I was not on my porch. Most mornings I sit with tea in hand watching as the sun crests Bolduc Hill and the cool night air takes on a warm, heavy… Continue Reading