Clara looked high and low, in rose gardens and graveyards, for the wisdom to pass up the sure thing. The shiny ring. The well-trod walk down a darkened aisle. Clara excelled at self-censure, and came ever so close to the abandonment of her dreams. Dreams were things Clara's mother packed up with her trousseau. Clara…

I've been here before. The flashes of recognition in one's turn of phrase. The way the light beguiles when it washes over the porch. These are parlor games played by the ghosts who call my spirit home. Runoff and remnants produced by one too many times time and time again. Sediment and sentiment. A hillock rises…

Wilma needed to scream. Her innards swirled. She felt her breakfast was about to leave the way it entered. Wilma wiped away sweat from the corner of her eye. Her long brown hair stuck to the back of her neck. The muggy, bumpy bus ride made the tumult inside Wilma unbearable. She estimated the length…

It won't do with you spending tea hunkered in the Fallopia japonica. There is no fooling anyone. The canopy barely covers you. I know you mentioned feeling less than human lately, which, of course, I don't understand one tiny bit. What I do know is your increasingly erratic behavior is making us all uncomfortable. You've…

Kurt loosened his grip and let dangle the cord that kept him tethered to his fellow buoys. He helped as many of the bloated floaters as he could. That was the whole reason why he held on for so long. Kurt was kind and liked to lend support in whatever way was right. Being helpful…

Gary was inordinately preoccupied with music. It was a major part of his day-to-day existence, and that was the problem. Gary was tone deaf and couldn't keep time to save his life. Despite these deficiencies, music nevertheless issued from his pores and filled the air around him. His head hummed with one concerto after another.…

The current flows through the pie safe, and every Randall, living or otherwise, comes and goes as she pleases. We've established a link up and down the family tree, and our house welcomes all who enter. Uncle Rupert visits often. Without fail, he brings us ginger beer and Pall Mall cigarettes, and tells us about…

I have no food or water as I wander into an uncharted district lit by a full moon. Other travelers, too, have found this patch of dry land. Unlike most of the country, it does not seep and fester with the bodies of men and beasts. Many of the camp's inhabitants resemble corpses. They've gone…

Tucked under the eaves of the rundown Victorian on the corner of 3rd and Landon, a nest sat vacant of swallows for decades. A permanent tenant moved into the space, and birds avoided  flying too close. The nest was no longer home to eggs and chicks, but it was far from empty.  A thorough inventory…