It had been a trying year already when Mr. Jolly up and died. He was the last link between Mom and me — the mime uncle who never spoke, yet expressed volumes. I knew without maybe knowing it consciously, being… Continue Reading
I wanted to distrust the crone. What purpose could she have to aid my quest? I drew myself up until the Christ’s Soldier medal on my vest glinted in the morning sun. “You seek that which cannot be named,” she… Continue Reading
Sweating Buffalo takes the pipe into his big hands and puffs like a train climbing a steep grade. A smoke-sweet smell quickly fills the bathroom. “It was another life,” he says, eyes gone dreaming. I prod him with a broom… Continue Reading
A week ago, two Sunday-suited men came to my door. Jehovah’s Witnesses, I assumed. No nametags, so they weren’t Mormons. At first I was not going to answer, then I thought, Why not? They both had dark hair, thin frames,… Continue Reading
One day after pizza-for-dinner, Dad decided to teach me how to make shadow puppets. We stood by the desk in his office, a big beast of a thing with sharp-corner shoulders hunched down to hold a computer and its screen.… Continue Reading
The leaning man — I will not use his real name in this report — suffers an unusual deformation of the ankle-foot joint. Rather than rising straight from the heel, his ankles bend sideways, causing him to list significantly to… Continue Reading