One day the whales departed. The whalewatchers waited and waited but the sea kept its stories hidden. Its surfaces were just blue-gray waves, wave upon wave unending. The captains scratched their heads when sonar pulsed back blank fathoms and whalers returned to the harbor to sulk and drink. And then it was the bees who […]
A man sits up after sleep and places the soles of his feet on the carpet, these feet that will no longer work. They’d carried him through South American jungles, through the streets of Lisbon, where nothing happened. They’d assisted him and Ben up mushy stairs with a piano, and with them he’d carried two […]
It’s morning and a crowd of people is in the street. I have a conflict: I work for the state and the state has claimed these crowds, these people, illegal, and I work for the state and must enforce its declarations. But I’m also a human being and these people in the streets are human […]
At the diner, a man spoke to his pancakes. He said, “I shall consume thee, my warm fluffy cakes, so buttery and sweet.” In the office, he told the copy machine: “I shall press thee, green button, and thus procure 15 copies of these, my required documents.” “And so, my friends, we shall set forth […]
Morning-time, the children planted flowers in the desert, long rows of flowers under clay cliffs and a wide blue sky that reminded some of the older children of oceans. But they had trouble finding water. They had to walk miles to a river with polished stones at the bottom, round as drowned heads. They carried […]
She left on his side of the bed: a sweaty bra, underwear (His) tied in a thick knot, and a spongy blood-soaked tampon. He wrote her: “You win.” In the old days He and She made fires in a backyard pit and smoked out the neighbors, who gathered on the street for protests. “We’ll stop, […]
The three thieves considered their next move. “We lost Jimmy in the department store job, Bobby on the bank job,” said the Leader, who stared at a 7-11 across the street. “And there’re only three of us left,” said the Second in Command. Which left the Third in Command to say: “Well, which one of […]
Pelgram in a small boat brought up a red fish. He removed it from the hook and fed it into a bucket, the scales and fins slipping across his skin like cold coarse rope. “The test is for the elusive white fish, if you want to be like us,” his friend, the fisherman said. “It’s […]
Once upon a time, in a land far away, wise men came to a king and said, “For our relief from famine, disease, and rampant job loss, a child must be birthed in the Pool of the Moon tomorrow and then promptly killed.” “And where shall we find such a sacrifice?” the King asked. “The […]
She was on a cell call with Barbara. A night storm had blown in. “I really need that number,” Barbara said. “I have it in the office,” she said. She started for the office from the living room. “And how’s James?” she asked. “Good, good. The cast should come off in a few days. He’s […]
Cruz loved bean dip. Bean dip and fritos. He usually bought one container of bean dip and ate it with disciplined slowness. He’d once rushed through the bean dip and, after a light lunch, filled his plate with corn chips and encountered just two substantial remaining scoops. He’d had to put most of the chips […]
Two young boys, Henry and Teddy, aspired to tree climbing. Henry asked his mother for permission to play in the woods behind the house. “Of course,” Mother said. “But stay nearby. Teddy’s father should be here soon and I don’t want to go looking for you.” The boys hustled into the woods to climb Henry’s […]
One day, he woke up. Amazing, he thought, I can feel my skin impacting the air and the rain on my face. So, this is my life, he said. He went to the Priest and the Priest said, Yes, this is your life. Then this, this is my life then? Yes, the Priest said. This […]
The Politician started a Twitter account and soon had one thousand Followers. He tweeted: I hate all of you. They voted him into office on a landslide. He tweeted: CNN at 10. Watch me eat a baby. They watched CNN at 10. He held a screaming baby by the ankle and ate it whole, chewing […]
