There is a place in the New Forest where a festival is held. Once a year, celebrations bloom, banners unfurl, music drifts, and the scent of roasting sugar thickens the air. No one can tell you where The Gathering is… Continue Reading
I’m sprawled out on the couch, minding my own business, when I hear it. A light scratching sound. Coming from somewhere deep within the walls. I freeze in place as the suspicious noise pricks my ears. Scrrrrratch-scratch-scratch… Scritch-scratch… Others might… Continue Reading
Jenna didn’t believe in the product. But she believed in metrics, and GlowSkin’s launch video had already hit 1.6 million in under three hours. Her contract included a bonus if she crossed two. And anyway, disbelief didn’t pay rent. She… Continue Reading
The phantom weight of the ring was the hardest part. Yuki would rub the pale, naked band of skin on her left finger until she made herself red and raw, a habit she couldn’t break. Ken had been gentle when… Continue Reading
En route to Menlo Park, New JerseyApril 1915 Do you read by electric light? Oh, I’m sure for years, squinting at your copy of Great Expectations by the spark of a candle on your Davenport, was a familiar experience. But… Continue Reading
Lakeside Elementary is on the edge of our neighborhood, right by the Piggly Wiggly. It isn’t anywhere near a lake, thankfully. There is only one natural lake in Texas. Halfway in Texas, really, and honestly, it’s only still there because… Continue Reading
I’ve been acting for so long that sometimes I forget where the act ends and I begin. I learned early how to look like the man people wanted: the right tone, the right posture, the right kind of silence. No… Continue Reading
As I struggled to repair my son’s bicycle, I thought of my dad. Years ago, he built me an entire bike from parts, assembling each piece while drinking a beer or two in the garage. One night, I brought out… Continue Reading
There it was, in the parish newsletter, under Furniture for Sale: “20 inch cream-colour bathroom cabinet, rose-shape handles.” With any luck, a replica of the one Charlene had broken last week. She had searched online, flagged up a couple of… Continue Reading
On the day in question, I’m perusing the grapefruits at my supermarket. I make sure I pick only a grapefruit clearly stickered “Star Ruby.” Meaning it’s not a pink grapefruit. Meaning it’s not an apricot. Meaning it’s not a bran… Continue Reading
