We found the dead bird when we were unpacking the trunk. It was amongst my aunt’s things. She usually released them when they died but she had chosen to keep this one. He lay in his box as pristine and jeweled as if asleep. We studied his small remains for clues. My aunt had kept … Continue reading
Category Archives: Other Worlds
Wait for me
So many emotions rattled around Leslie’s brain—disappointment, irritation, and rejection—it was impossible to sleep. The problem was not a strange bed. Her sister had lived in the apartment for years and Leslie had visited and stayed the night—albeit reluctantly—more than once. However, on other occasions Leslie hadn’t been ripped out of her midnight musings by … Continue reading
The Usual Skeptics
“Before we were asked to choose months, we never fought,” Maggie said, pummeling the bread dough and whipping it around to give the other side a whack. “Bullshit,” her husband replied. He grabbed the newspaper in an attempt to exit the ring before the bell for the third round. In their years together, after a … Continue reading
Breaking Up
After running through a gamut of emotions—anxiety, guilt, and regret—Athena’s reaction to her decision had impaled Sheila with terror. She’d read of men—and to be fair, also of women—who were so enraged when a spouse or lover left them that they became violent, which is where things seemed to be heading. Safe in her cozy … Continue reading
Right Time, Right Place
The room was square. Six sat, two against each of three walls. Quentin sat facing the fourth blank wall in the middle of the room, hands on her lap. There was a long pause and then the meeting began. “Quentin,” said a loud voice immediately behind her. “I believe that you have long suspected that … Continue reading
Nobody There
Quentin had been warned that the laboratory behind the grove of ornamental trees contained ghastly biological specimens that could do ‘immeasurable harm.’ When she indicated that she could not understand the word “harm,” her Before-Me had rocked slowly and become smiling. “In that you are a fortunate creature of the earth,” it murmured. “Some of … Continue reading