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…
Sadie took a deep breath, praying she didn’t make a complete fool of herself. She had searched out Cassandra Rosenthol through the coffee shop windows before entering so she wouldn’t stand in the middle of the shop looking around like a dope. She only had one chance to make a…
“You’re lying.” “No, I’m not.” “There’s no such place!” “Yes, there is.” “No way. You’re a liar. Liar! Liar!” Julia sighed. The second graders had only just started their lunches and she already needed to quiet them down. “Brock, Aiden, inside voices, please.” “Miss Hulbert,” Brock whined (she was pretty…
Once a year they brought the Sorrow from her hermitage in the hills so that she could speak to them and remind them of the world that had once been, to speak from the affliction that science had cured. They gathered in the stadium by the tens of thousands, talking…
“Hudson, school’s been cancelled.” Hudson walked out of his room with his Pokemon shirt half on and no pants. “Why?” “There’s fog today.” “That’s dumb,” he said, putting his arm through the sleeve. “Chase and me were going to be captains at kickball today. “At least you have an extra…