The forest’s maw yawned as native trees—silver bells, red ciders, magnolias, and maples—pushed away the sky. Its teeth, the ruined walls of a great estate, sprang from the low-lying foliage and delineated the summer sunlight into harsh shadows and warm pools. “It must have been a beautiful house once.” Zoe, the group’s intrepid spearhead and ...

I love staring at my mother’s butt. Iona is jealous of parades, like the planet unfurls before us god-beings walking down the middle of the street, then avalanches to bury the spectators cheering from the sidelines.    That’s only something you can believe from the crowd. The domos squash any hope of sightseeing with their mechanical insistence on procession. It’s ...

Content warning: Drug use. Intended for adult readers. “Let me play among the stars.” Frank Sinatra’s relaxing voice caressed her ears as if a comforting hand brushed her hair back into place. She gazed up to the stars as she teetered back in her chair. The sky was a vibrant amber and scarlet mixture. Yet ...

My sweater sat, draped over an open drawer. I examined the stains and tears, earned from years of love. The garment seemed to be on its last legs, yet I longed to lose myself in the familiar fabric. When I was six, my grandfather died from a heart attack. “Too full of love,” my mom ...

On that second of February, the sky was clear and bright, and the sun’s powerful rays were felt even below the ground’s surface. The groundhog lay asleep deep within its sand burrow, curled up like a cinnamon roll. Soil sprinkled its brown fur, resembling diamond dust as he dreamed of his father. My son, I ...

Catherine sat up in the creaking bed and rubbed her swollen eyes. This head cold had made the previous night a hard one to sleep through, and its presence lingered today. “Achoo!” She sneezed into her hands, got up, and washed them thoroughly in the washbasin, as mother had taught her. Afterwards, Catherine donned a ...

Lacey was as excited as a child on Christmas morning. New York City was a fluffy winter scene. The first snowfall of the season in Manhattan brought the outside world to a dead stop. The streets were lined with kids playing and adults shoveling sidewalks. Quiet fell on the normal bustle of the Big Apple. ...

Grief was as new to Lacey as having seasons. Autumn approached faster than she anticipated it would. She wasn’t prepared for change of any kind. The passing of her older sister, June, had rocked her to the core. June’s death was not the plan. The two women planned to grow old together. They would conquer ...

The girl who’s got it together keeps a spotless dwelling. There is no heap of clothes draped over a desk chair, or hamper, or laundry basket, or towels hung from the wardrobe knobs. Her room is camera ready for a design magazine. It is sparse, with walls painted in a soothing lavender, and select pieces ...

We were surprised but not frightened when the dead came to visit. Our hopes and prayers had been answered. Their return, a gift that death was an elaborate joke, a mistake, a bad dream. At first, we knew them. Lost family members, ex-lovers, neighbors, and friends of friends made their way to our homes. The ...