Alone at long last, just me, Cain and Abel. Abel, as always, is pushing the back of his neck up alongside my leg as I unpack a month’s worth of groceries. And Cain, in his typical mad fervor, is trying to twist and wrench his brother back down to the tile floor. I’m relieved that they seem to have had no trouble adjusting to the new place, and I immediately set out...
Dropping the final crate of jarred food to the floor, I slammed the cabin door shut bracing the cold. Lighting the wood stove before I began hauling my supplies likely helped a bit, but opening the door with each delivery lowered the temperature by several orders of magnitude. It was going to be a harsh winter. Just the way I liked it. I could barely wait for the thick snow drifts to pile...
I have led a caged life in many ways. I was born to hypochondriac parents whose inclinations were further hardened with my early diagnosis. I was born with a rare form of epilepsy, both more frequent and more easily triggered than the standard fare. Being that over-stimulation is a primary trigger, my childhood was rather dull. It was engineered to be so, despite my parents best attempts to keep...
With my eighty two years on this planet I have many stories to tell. But this is the one that started it all. It is not a story about spending over fifty years working in a single-employee post office. It is not a story of the loneliness around having no family of my own. Nor is it even a story about Bellvue with it’s two hundred and fifteen Kansas-native residents. It is a...
I started my first day at the station after it had finally fallen back into obscurity. This was just fine by me. I had dreamed of being police since I was six, and traded my skirts for my brothers blue jeans which just barely resembled my father’s uniform. It really does run in the blood, that sense of justice. The determination. The drive to make things better than they are now however you...
“I’m a devotee of the muse.” I stated, looking down at my thin pale fingers upon the bar. They were too thin. Too blue white, even under the stained light and smoke. They were fingers that would scuttle into your pocket when you weren’t looking. Fingers that would page through your life and walk away with your memories on their backs.I swooned in the haze of cigar...
This is the first time I have ever flown first class. It is also the last flight I ever intend to take. You would think that the universe would adapt to this and give a dying girl an enjoyable final journey. Some part of me hopes that the next world operates under these, more kind and generous, sorts of rules. Let’s get this out of the way first. Yes, I am going to kill myself. No it is not...
I loved my Grandmother. Everyone did. You could see it on their faces when she would walk into town. She would greet each everyone, their names rolling off her tongue at will, and they would bask in her attention. And even though my little eight-year-old self had been just one of many devotees of her radiance, she always made me feel special. My parents lives were a constant...
Have you ever glanced at an analog clock to find that the second hand has frozen. You instinctively know that a second, perhaps even two, has passed. Even as the timepiece refutes your ingrained theories. This is a known phenomena. Studied, cataloged, discussed and dubbed chronostasis. It is the same phenomena that prevents you from seeing your own eyes move in a mirror as you shift...
Little Kayla Jameson disappeared on January 10th, at 4:30pm. One hour after I had passed her in the hall. One hour after her eyes met mine and I watched the concern drop from her face to be replaced with an open smile. A small gift for me, from a troubled and kindhearted child. I was shocked when the police informed me that I had been the last person to see her. I kept repeating to myself that I...