Charles did the best he could to wipe away the smeared edges of memories that would not dovetail. There were gaps and odd thoughts and dangling threads in the history Charles put down on paper every night, but he had to finish his story before the wispy imagery faded for good. Charles didn't care the…

Change was on its way, and Lori needed to pack her bags. She laughed at her meager choices as she rifled through drawers. Packing would take all of five minutes, so she tiptoed across the hall and opened the door to Lynne's room. Big sis had a job, which meant she had a few extra…

The sidewalk was overrun with umbrellas, though the cement was dry and sticky. The people who popped open the umbrellas were tired and sticky. A gaggle of clouds, grey-blue and bloated, took their time as they pushed all sweaty across the sky. Lidia sat on a bench at the bus stop, hand wrapped around her…

NesQuik Strawberry Drink Mix, 400 grams. Red wine. Blood. It was a steady progression from one preference to the next. Megan craved, simple as that, and it didn't much matter how innocent that first hit was. As long as her poison was sweet, the dark days were carried away on waves of chemically-induced contentment. The…

A raggedy clump of dog-roses were piled on the kitchen table in need of a healthy clip and trim. The thorny climbers grew tall and hardy amongst the hedgerows in the quiet, misty corner of the world Regina Canton called home. The five baby-toe-pink petals of the Rosa Canina delighted Regina, giving her the impression…

Fourth place taught Beulah a lesson. She'd always been top of the heap. No crafter came close to Beulah's attention to detail and sense of whimsy. Her favorite season was all of them. Each and every day was a holiday in Beulah's book. Her recent lowly showing at the county fair, however, brought home something…

Gary's lineman-sized body, which he didn't do a whole hell of a lot to keep in shape, would not fit through the window for very long. His goal was folding in on itself, and the moment Gary'd carved out of leftover dreams, and good old-fashioned detective work, was quickly slipping into the narrow band of…

The company picnic gave Barbara a pounding headache and indigestion, even though she didn't eat any of the shitty food. Another season, another round of humiliating back-slaps, and the onset of debilitating self-doubt that accompanied these shindigs were taking their toll on Barbara's delicate constitution. After every bloated VP's speech, and the sour sulfur rising…

Leigh put in a lot of hours to track down answers no one gave a damn about. Since no one but Leigh asked any questions in the first place, that was probably the reason why. All was well in the sleepy little hamlet just east of the interstate. All sorts of folk passed through, and…