The purple puffy pouch rested against the stapler. Some of the air already deflated causing it to slump more than stand. Not that she had filled it with air or anything really to make it puffy, it had just kind of closed that way. Inside was a small token of affection, one that Margret was…
Category: The Unedited Version
Like a Lovesick Puppy
They say time can heal all wounds, but what else can time do? Can it change how we feel about people? What we remember about them? How we look at them or remember the way they treated us? Maybe even the way we treated them? Below are five chapters of a larger story – read…
The Stuffed Stocking
The turkey was in the oven. Why they were having turkey was beyond him. It was Christmas Eve, and everyone knew ham was the definitive Christmas meal. Not turkey. Everyone except her. She also didn’t know that the antipasto started at five, served properly – not buffet style, and dinner was at six. She had…
Alice’s Christmas Gift
It was truly the most wonderful time of the year for Alice. She loved the music, the cheer, the food, and most of all, the snow. Nothing filled her heart with more cheer than driving through nearby neighborhoods with Christmas music reverberating through her windows and her heart, chain smoking her Virginia Slims, watching the…
A Midnight Hunt (Part 1)
Maybe tonight things would be different. The magic had picked up with the storm. It was almost palpable in the air. Maybe Gabrielle could really be the Ice Queen after all. She thought of Rick and their good times. The snow slowed its pace. The rumbled of truck caught Gabrielle’s attention. Its sloppy maneuvering and aggressive speed were enough to tell Gabrielle that it was going to be one of those nights. She watched as the truck came barreling down the street. The fear of the unknown mixed with the memories of other nights causing Gabrielle’s chest to tighten. Her throat felt constricted. She closed her eyes as the snow came billowing onto the porch. She tried to chuckle at the thought that it was trying to give her a hug. She couldn’t laugh. She knew too well what was going to happen. Gabrielle opened her eyes and watched as Rick clipped the corner of their driveway. She heard his slurred trail of screamed obscenities from the porch. She watched as his anger transformed his face from drunk and lax to red and harsh.
A Lifetime of Mistakes
Before she felt the grip of his fingers searing into her skin, she felt her breath splintering off. Six years since his last fight, seven maybe. It was before they had started dating. Had to be eight. She had heard through stories of the “good old days” that his go-to-move was the throat grab. She…
Kill the Lights
The lights would come and go at no particular interval. It was as though every morning someone deliberately spun the dial on a timer so that it was never actually set properly. Sometimes there wasn’t a real light in her dark corner, but only a glow from a nearby place. Sometimes there was no glow at all. Those were the days she decided that instead of a game of “Spin the Light,” it was “Kill the Lights.” No matter what the circumstances or environment Ali never lost her mind, she just waited patiently until she was freed to go home. That was her ultimate want, to return home.
Birthday Cigarettes
He was aware he stood out. It wasn’t just his long hair and partially shaved head, or the way he stood motionless, it wasn’t his tattoos and his all black wardrobe. Not that any of these things weren’t true, nor did they help him blend in any, but he had known from a very young…
Going In Circles
Friday, 11/22/19 Frankie was always late. Knowing this, Lucy still pulled into the park at 5:30 pm. A half an hour of walking would be good for her. Unlike Frankie who spent every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at the gym, Lucy spent Friday and Saturday nights going out to dinner, out to the movies, or…
Vengeance for Dinner
Makeda was a good dog. She looked like a baby fox, and loved me more than anyone else. Every morning before school I walked her down the street toward the park. The houses getting more and more decrepit as we walked. We’d walk along side the park, avoiding the various wrappers and throw away items….