Summer Creatures
byIt started with bees in the garden hose. Allison had gone to the back of the house and turned on the faucet, needing to finally water the yellowed grass, wanting…
Stories
Barry Denver Stole My Wife
byBarry Denver stole my wife the day after he stole my Cal Ripken, Jr. rookie card. It was a PSA-graded collectible from 1982 with a tiny grease spot on the…
Richard’s Ashes
byI found them in the crawl space. A thick cardboard box inside a less thick cardboard box, buried under action figures. I didn’t know they were the ashes until I…
Ruthie
byWhen the ambulance pulls away with her mother tucked inside, Ruthie blinks in sync with its flashing lights. Her eyes widen as her pupils curl up in little balls. She…
The Formation of Igneous Rock
by1. Erakuyó Buses drop you off at the closest village. You won’t see the volcano’s spitting peak through the tree crowns ahead, but you will hear the thrumming that sprawls…
Gravitas
byThey tell me later that the gray suit saw me and beelined across the plaza, one arm swinging like a Russian solider, the other weighted down by the cup of…
The Cowards’ Line
byJohn Wilkes Booth and Pat Garrett and Robert Ford rode a ghost train through my living room every night. The first time it came was a week after I moved…
A Great Rain
byBailey Cunningham was Martin’s friend more than mine and it was early October when I first heard what happened to him. I’d been waiting for the school bus wearing my…
Falling, Flying
byI’m through the heavy door and across the rooftop. I step to the ledge. Don’t look down, I tell myself. It’s a long way down. A woman’s voice, mellifluous in…
A Clean, Buttery Finish
byCharlotte took the elevator to the fifteenth floor. Johnny’s place. Johnny was a professional cuddler who’d burned out from too much spooning and neck nuzzling and was taking a break,…