The Journal

Books smell great. Well, most of them. Some have an acidic tang that burns the nostrils. Most books, however, appeal to the nose. Paperbacks tend to be dry and dusty, while textbooks smell of printing press and computer lab. Every bound volume has its own aroma, a blend of its origins and all points thereafter. [...]

Ogre

“I’m no monster. Sure, and the wee humans go runnin’ when they see me ugly arse, but I wouldna harm a one.”
Tosh pulled tender young leaves from a plucked branch, alternately smashing them between her stubby fingers and tossing them into the breeze. Next to her, Rua concentrated on the daisy held in her delicate [...]

Night Blizzard

My toes are frozen. Sneakers don’t hold snow out, jeans invite it in. Wind shoots down my neck where there used to be a hood. If I get out of this, I won’t remove another hood ever again. I don’t care if it does look lame.
I don’t know how I’ll get back into the car. [...]

Who’s Sad?

*NOTE: There is some mild language.*

“Let’s play a game,” she says.
I give her that look. The look like she’s either a sick bitch or a moron.
“Not that kind of game, you perv.” She yawns and itches her arm. “I was thinking of a game my gramps used to play with us kids.”
“Sounds genius.”
She does that [...]

Chocolate in January

Steaming foam cups wait in two neat rows. Bowls of marshmallows sit next to a thick pile of napkins at the end of the makeshift table of a whiteboard propped across a couple of sawhorses.
“Remind me,” Mary says, “whose bright idea this was.”
I laugh and jab my thumb in our husbands’ direction. The guys are [...]

Inhaler

She inhales spirits. Not the throat-burning, belly-warming variety found in a bottle. No, she inhales the spirits of living beings.
It’s not the kind of thing one might notice. She does it a little at a time. If you’re lucky, you won’t meet her at all. Less luck, and you meet her once, feel off for [...]

Horses Don’t Fly

“You got dewormer?”
I nod, barely looking at the customer, and lead him down the aisle. I can smell him follow. Dust, the faint tang of manure, feed, and something else I can’t identify. It’s kind of like decay and blood, but I’m not sure. Even though it’s been years since I’ve been on a farm, [...]

The Yelling

The Yelling

The Yelling. Oh, the Yelling. It’s everywhere. I can’t get out from under It, go around It, fly through It. It follows me to all corners of my life.
It’s a thing, not just something does to someone else. Most people can’t see It. I can. It’s huge and bulky, dressed in a trench coat [...]

Kell-Bell’s Regrets

Kelly wished for more. More time, more life, more. There was too much done that had to be undone, but she was out of time.
She reached for the list. Her former volleyball team was halfway down. With a frail hand, she used a pencil to etch them away. One less care. Dozens to go. Back [...]

The Dead Curmudgeon

What the hell? How dare they use my money for that!
It had been six months since they buried his coffin on the moon. Kathy knew he opposed to makingt contact. The Space Elevator was transport, not a friggin’ antenna…
☼
“The George M. Gates Trust is proud to announce a go-date for Earth’s first transmission to the [...]