In the shallows, the water laps gently against my waist. The cool dampness of the pre-dawn ocean, it’s a sensation that grounds me in the moment. For the first time in two weeks I’m finally in the present. I can actually feel the soft wind against my cheeks, the caressing touch of wet sand shifting […]
Dear Grok, Since you’re a cat and I’m a human being, it seemed strange at first when visitors said that we looked alike. Still, it happened several times that they studied our blue eyes and fair complexions and then blurted out, “It’s obvious that you are family!” Jokingly, of course, but with a touch of […]
In the restless darkness of this final night, the dense salty air stung the faces of all who sat crammed on the tiny boat. The dancing water undulated with quiet indifference as it rocked their boat from side to side. All the groaning and rumbling was now muffled and there was relative quiet as taut […]
His fingers were starting to numb in the bite of dusk. Wind was kicking up too. The job wasn’t easy, panhandling. Every morning between the hours of six and nine he would stand on the lane island on Washington St. and War Memorial. War Memorial he thought. The perfect name for the perfect irony: a […]
Leaving her beloved city with lights dancing on the sidewalk was tough, but going home was tougher. “Who says you can’t go home?” Abigail said to herself, as she rode the train. “Me, that’s who.” Following her mother’s death her father began to decline rapidly. None of her siblings were any help, or even interested […]
The stars had always reminded her of home. The sparkling icicles melting in the morning sun. The twinkling fireflies dancing over fields damp from summer rain. And here she was. Floating among them. The radio in her helmet crackled as she floated further and further from her salvation. The ship became a speck on the […]
I steady my breathing, clumsily adjusting my backpack straps which always end up annoyingly uneven, no matter what I do. Stopping before a set of doors, I quickly run through a list of how to seem confident that I stole from the internet. Pathetic, I know. I roll back my shoulders, tilt my head up, […]
Hula was unique, different. Hula did not belong. Hula’s only desire was to belong. As a newborn, she was found in the desert alone. The scientists finding her, adopted her, but were amazed that she was not burnt by the sun nor harmed by creatures. They were loving but distant; never inspiring a sense of […]
Conch shells blew as the new bride stepped in, leaving her red dyed footprints on the floor. After completing the rituals, she was ushered into her bedroom. The new furniture had been set. The lavender walls reminded her of how she drove her cousin crazy trying to select matching bed clothes. She had painstakingly selected […]
She accosted him as he entered their college dormitory. “Is it my fault? Did I say something?” He started, shaken from his musings. “Sorry. Don’t follow.” “I saw you entering the psychobabble office. They badgered me about my relationships with others. Didn’t think I said anything bad about you.” He hesitated, reliving his confrontation with […]
I don’t remember the time before Caius Aurelius Britannicus found me. He became my father even before he officially adopted me. With him, I belonged. When I lost him to the fire, during the great rebellion, a bit of myself went with him. I needed a new purpose and the army gave it to me. […]
A comfortable room.A cozy fire.Two old men. Between them, a checkerboard, a plate of homemade cookies, the interwoven threads of their lives. “Tell Emma these cookies are delicious.”Caleb grins. “She’s a fine cook. Didn’t she bake the cake for your first wedding?”“Yep. Had pink roses all over,” Seth remembers. “Sarah loved roses. Yellow honeysuckle for […]
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