Delia woke to the gentle clicking of a clock somewhere in the distance. She lay there, eyes closed, for a long time, the steady tick-tick-tick leading her consciousness slowly out of the depths, giving her a sense of space and calm. Delia was only eight, and she was not brave….
You feel it too, don’t you, that uneasiness when you wake in the middle of the night, that exhaustion when you open your eyes in the morning and think, “Not again”? You keep moving, keep checking your phone, keep on keeping on, because if you pause, if you hesitate, if…
Paul pulled up to the window and opened his wallet. The cashier leaned out. “Sir, the car in front of you paid for you.” He gripped the cash in his hand. “We had $30 worth of food.” The cashier smiled. “They said, pay it forward. Here are your drinks.” Paul…
Her father sat enveloped in the La-Z-Boy recliner, staring sadly at the blank TV. Sometimes Sarah could forget how old he was, but it struck her all at once now. She saw him clearly for a moment–sunken cheeks, wisping hair, worn, perpetually smudge clothes, an old man who could hardly…
I knew it was her because she had just Instagrammed me a selfie of herself at the table next to mine. I stood and took my seat across from her. Her mask was anime-inspired, with large eyes and a cute expression. Her clothes were tight-fitting and revealing. My mask was…
I am Avani. I was born of the sun’s flame and a child’s innocence, of the dew upon the flower and the first fall of snow. My hand has guided the rivers and the seas, tilled the soil and smelted ores. I am the mother of a noble race, the…
The woman knew her husband was in a mood by the way he avoided her. It hadn’t been like that in the beginning. He had never prowled around in that sullen silence either. No, he had been effusively talkative, grabbing her hand and showing her a snail upon the melon…
Linda pressed the door carefully closed, listening for and hearing the soft metallic click of the latch sliding into its place. The sound was a comforting one, far more satisfying than the dull pneumatic sigh of a glass door swinging back into place or the slight bang of a sliding…
The castle, begrimed by salt and seagulls and empty years, rose from a promontory that overlooked a violent sea. A narrow isthmus connected the castle to land, worn away by waves and no wider than two, maybe three, men walking comfortably abreast. The water churned far below among jagged rocks….
After days of gray clouds and constant snow, the sun shone in a clear, pale sky. The temperature hovered just above freezing. In the sunlight, it seemed positively tropical after weeks of single digits plus wind chill. Towering heaps of smudged snow glistened on the corners and curbs. The streets…
The children stared at her, uncomprehendingly. “Did I stutter?” The littlest, Kandace, smiled brightly, thinking it was some sort of joke. “It’s time to take down the tree,” she repeated. “Why?” Kayley, the middle child, asked. “Because it’s the middle of January.” “I don’t want to take it down,” said…
Bitter winds disturbed the bare branches, which creaked and muttered and hissed. Samuel had smashed his hat on his head so tightly the wind couldn’t budge it, but he felt the cold even through his long fur-lined coat. He trudged forward across the hard ground, breaking sticks and turning autumn…