January 23, 2022
We Meet to Part Always
There's a chasm opening in my stomach. A familiar feeling of sunken hopes once hatched. “When will I see you again, Eti?” My voice is hoarse. She…
January 22, 2022
Rays of the Rising Sun
I felt wrenched for my best friend, Haya. She was crying in her mother's arms, it was her 17th birthday and we should have been celebrating, but her…
January 20, 2022
If Only
The stick of blue eyeshadow rattles around in the bottom of a fishing tackle box. The one I had used for my make-up as a professional stage actor. It…
January 19, 2022
Left Out of Encyclopedia Britannica
I had students on the Persian Gulf named Muhammad, Saleh, and Fatso. Today. I had students in Houston Gardens named Keisha, Sabrina, and Dante. I had…
January 18, 2022
Transmogrify My Wife, Please
“There is no such thing as a parallel universe,” I said. “Of course, there is,” Quarry replied. “Ever heard of the quantum theory? That’s what it’s…
January 17, 2022
Cum Gutters
I could sense something was off when Bradley stayed firmly on his side of the bed. He’d said nothing since coming home, but he could be quiet, so I…
January 16, 2022
Panhandler
The bearded panhandler stood by the stop sign at the corner of Hollywood and the off ramp to the hospital from 6:30 a.m. until after rush hour in the…
January 16, 2022
New Beginning
April 2470 I should have started this journal sooner so there would be some record of the final days of our species. But how was I to know I would be…
January 15, 2022
Monster, Mermaid, and Me
On a fine day at my Southeast Portland house, I put on my bright white swimsuit and went out to my pool and imagined myself Julie* Adams in The…
January 15, 2022
A Cocked and Locked Christmas, Part 4
December 24th, 6:00 PM The regulars who found themselves lonely and with nothing better to do on Christmas Eve had trickled in later in the day, but…