Paul hadn’t expected the end to feel like this; the absence of pain was unexpected. More than anything, a hollowing out. The edges of things had dulled, the distance gained softened, the body delicately seeping back from its source. Still… Continue Reading
He still cooked like someone might show up. Gage plated the chili even though he was already full. He spooned it into one of his regular bowls, the ones with faint red stains from spaghetti and a chip near the… Continue Reading
When you pick your brother up from the rehab center, he will not look like he did when you saw him last at your cousin’s birthday party, when you didn’t know he had white powder in his zipped-up cargo short… Continue Reading
I was lucky to get a seat at a little table by the window in a small cafe on West 49th Street. Outside the rain was relentless. Streets were flooded and people on the sidewalk were moving quickly while trying… Continue Reading
There is a place in the New Forest where a festival is held. Once a year, celebrations bloom, banners unfurl, music drifts, and the scent of roasting sugar thickens the air. No one can tell you where The Gathering is… Continue Reading
I’m sprawled out on the couch, minding my own business, when I hear it. A light scratching sound. Coming from somewhere deep within the walls. I freeze in place as the suspicious noise pricks my ears. Scrrrrratch-scratch-scratch… Scritch-scratch… Others might… Continue Reading
Jenna didn’t believe in the product. But she believed in metrics, and GlowSkin’s launch video had already hit 1.6 million in under three hours. Her contract included a bonus if she crossed two. And anyway, disbelief didn’t pay rent. She… Continue Reading
The phantom weight of the ring was the hardest part. Yuki would rub the pale, naked band of skin on her left finger until she made herself red and raw, a habit she couldn’t break. Ken had been gentle when… Continue Reading
En route to Menlo Park, New JerseyApril 1915 Do you read by electric light? Oh, I’m sure for years, squinting at your copy of Great Expectations by the spark of a candle on your Davenport, was a familiar experience. But… Continue Reading
Lakeside Elementary is on the edge of our neighborhood, right by the Piggly Wiggly. It isn’t anywhere near a lake, thankfully. There is only one natural lake in Texas. Halfway in Texas, really, and honestly, it’s only still there because… Continue Reading