Sometimes in the car, or in the moments before falling asleep, a recollection of him appeared. Maybe it was because I saw someone in his liking. A tall, thin stranger with his head down and hands in his pockets. Or, the radio played Green Day’s “When I Come Around.” So much time had passed. The ...

Leaves of scarlet and gold covered the street and sidewalk. The neon signage of the Italian restaurant, Pomodoro, shined blurry on the asphalt. The eatery consumed most of the block. It shed its warm interior into the wet outdoors. A large chalkboard menu visible to onlookers boasted happy hour specials in block letters. Amidst the ...

The Old Woman ran her fingertips over the dead leaves, then clenched her hand into a fist, and clawed at the drooped plants. Water dripped out of the hose on the dry ground beside her. A strong breeze rustled from beyond the garden fence. They stood in the distance. Without her glasses, they were blurry ...

I enter the restaurant and admire the fish tank in the front foyer. The colorful koi dance in the water and I watch them as I wait for the waitress to seat me.  “This way, please.”  She leads me to a spot in a corner hidden from the view of the other patrons. “Thank you,” ...

The heat is sweltering. It’s a hot evening in late June, and the air conditioning decides to go out in the store. On my shift. I grimace as a trickle of sweat goes down my neck before my t-shirt absorbs it. There’s a fan positioned above me, but with the doors closed, only a warm ...

I’m sitting in my car, twiddling my thumbs as I watch the numbers on the dash change—1:58 PM.  Okay, time to walk in.  Grimacing at the bullshit that awaits inside, I pull myself out and slam the door. Several pigeons picking at scraps from the ground flew into the air, the noise startling them. The ...

Our story begins on a Tuesday in the cafeteria of minimum wage jobs. None of us wanted to be there; then again, who wants to work a job that only allowed a bare minimum of living? We were just three strange faces who barely knew each other. Our shifts were different, so we were passing ...