My first day alive, four days before my last, was cold and bright. The Woman had made me sometime in the morning when the air was damp and the garden was quiet. Before she gave me my eyes, I could… Continue Reading
Painting the wall seemed like a good idea in early spring. We didn’t exactly have time on our hands, but some had been freed up by not having to commute. As it had become necessary to spend so much time… Continue Reading
There are three strangers with me in the sheltered bus stop. The winter storm keeps us behind the protective glass but the wicked wind relentlessly abrades it, trying to steal what little heat we have in the small space. The… Continue Reading
Jenny saw the cat on a March afternoon that was blustering full-on with a rare Texas snowstorm. She had been staring out into the blue-white dissonance beyond her apartment window, lulled by the gentle drift of the flakes. Snow came… Continue Reading
On my drive home last night, the flakes danced in and out of my car’s headlights, and a dusting of snow moved in low eddies over the pavement. The sounds of Pachelbel’s Canon in D echoed the snow’s dance. The… Continue Reading
Mom bequeathed me two things before she passed. First were keys to the Vermont Bed & Breakfast where I grew up. She managed the business with perfect elegance: polished woodwork, superbly manicured lawn, and spotless sidewalks every winter. At twenty-four… Continue Reading
The Night Man walks the winter dark, trailing mist and shadows, too tall and thin for an ordinary man and slightly translucent around the edges. No lock or bar can keep him out, and though a light might hold him… Continue Reading
It was winter and a blue snow fell again covering the plains of this insignificant planet in a fine cobalt dusting of fresh, deep powder. Janey liked to kick it around exposing the light blue layer beneath the darker surface;… Continue Reading
Howling wind clawed at the house and forced a chill through a crack under the front door. Ice crystals beat against the windows and the lights dimmed. “Looks like you’ll be missing a week of school.” Kit looked up from… Continue Reading
A long, steep slope flattens out into a broad shelf of newly fallen snow before tumbling into a deep ditch beside a road. The snow calls to a new sled, challenging it, mocking the bright red paint, daring it to… Continue Reading