The great cacophonous roar of the 7:30 rush buzzed through Sam’s body as he and his coworkers became thin stretched across espresso machines, breakfast sandwiches, and caffeine-deficient customers. He smacked the mocha bottle, but only a lone, lethargic drop fell into the frothy milk. With a groan, he tossed it into the empty trash but ...

Sam choked as his heart sprang into his throat. On the next block, her hair thrown together like an abstract painting, a familiar figure waited at a bus stop. He shuddered, his legs weakened, and for a moment, he understood the plight of deer when a car barrels towards them. His sensibility devolved as he ...

“I’m coming home!” Sam’s vision blurred as he went faster. “Don’t.” His sister’s voice was steady. “She’s okay for now. Her breathing has calmed, and as soon as she eats or drinks, I’ll let you know. Besides, with rush hour traffic, it’ll take you twice as long as it did me to drive here.” Sam ...

Between the apartment complexes, the cathedral’s spires pierced the brooding sky. The forecast predicted a clear day, but the pillars of dark clouds augured a different outcome. “Figures.” Sam looked away from the ill weather omen. Why care? The black bank of cloud looked more prophetic the closer he got. What kind of whirlwind of ...

Sam’s heart was light even as nature gathered itself for one final inconvenience in a morning mauled by them. His dog appeared to be on the mend, and he’d found his way back. Everything else was like a dream. A fantastical dream. An unbelievable dream… His step hitched. No one will believe it. He’d been ...

A thick wind spilled through the streets and over the cars as they slowed to accommodate a bus. It hissed, then jostled away from the sidewalk and joined the line of brake lights that snaked off. Sam saw all of this as if in miniature. The people, so many people, all with mornings behind them, ...