Audrey 2.01
Gary opened his eyes, stretched. He could smell coffee and bacon. Quietly, almost imperceptibly, La bohème, his favorite opera, was playing. Gary took it all in, smiled. A quick look at his phone showed him what his senses already knew: all systems working perfectly. *** Six months later and he was still mostly pleased. Apart […]
The Other Side of Everywhere
Going back there, the road is narrow and twisty. I’m not sure I want to be going but I don’t stop for anything. No snacks, got enough gas. The birds flying low over the road are enough to keep me on my way. You’d think I had a date. You’d think someone had sent me […]
Meeting Someone Once for Five Seconds
Imagine a woman who has come to a cabin two days ago. Not everything is put away yet; there are boxes stacked along one wall, all of them still closed, four or five that have been marked Assorted, the ones that will frustrate her getting settled. There are other boxes she didn’t get to mark. […]
The Teardown
A week after their not-a-one-night-stand at her place, Ray invited Edie to his house. The house lived in the center of its own small forest behind a suburban industrial park. Edie stayed over, then simply stayed. Although, staying implies a passivity where in fact there was grasping intention to establish herself. She thought it was […]
Amazon Has Voodoo Dolls, But Not Reindeer
Voodoo dolls are often misunderstood. There’s potential to bring a person good luck and fortune, but this was not that moment. The last time I was in NOLA the heaviness of spirit seeped into the clothes I wore and never dried. I didn’t need the doll back then, so now I guess Amazon would have […]
THERAPY
From the porch, he heard the metal wind chimes tinkling on the Shepard’s hook, and the dull clanging of the shell chimes dangling from the back awning, and the baritone bamboos nailed to the lower limb of the elm tree. It was a windy day. The chimes reminded him of his wife, who’d hung them, […]
The bracelet
The stall in Spitalfields Market, London, sells silver jewellery, bracelets, necklaces and earrings. I edge closer to take a look. Beside me a woman of about 50 is talking to the stall owner, an older Indian man. The man’s right arm is poised mid-air as he holds up a rack of bracelets for her to […]
A Silent Marriage
Mr. and Mrs. Dalton were creatures of habit. Each morning, when the alarm clock trilled at 6:30 am, Mr. Dalton would descend to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee, dark roast, with vanilla flavored cream on Saturdays as a treat. Meanwhile, Mrs. Dalton made the bed, pulling the white sheets tight and tucking […]