God Awful Reminder

The map of the United States filled the wall above the desk and like most, Hawaii and Alaska are included in the corner to complete the image. At the bottom of the map are scrawled the words, “No real destination.” Sprawled out on the couch, a heavyset old main snores lightly. Occasionally his snoring stops…

We had just left the bowling alley when a distraction by my friend allowed me to slip away from him. Before he could stop me, I was already down the alley and rounding the corner. A strong breeze at my back—a breath of tantalizing freedom. Twice I was able to evade… staying just beyond the…

A yellow butterfly flutters and lands on the dedication sign for the forest green bench. Mother sits on the bench, handkerchief in hand, wiping the tears from her eyes. For weeks, Mother has been angry at me, ignoring me almost completely. Mother looks over and mutters my name. “Sarah.” I look up, grinning. Maybe she…

The sounds have clicks and ticks and various inflections that I just cannot recreate. Ever since I arrived, the natives… let’s call them benefactors… have been incessantly hovering, though, odd enough, their attention is erratic. My food, normally provided regularly, is sometimes forgotten. This means I have to sidle up to the bars of my…

The cracked sidewalk led up to the creaky steps of the old Victorian house. He took a deep breath… and began walking up to the porch just above the stairs. With each step, it felt like he was walking in molasses. Slowly, his legs felt heavier the closer he got. At the steps, he struggled…

The fog-laden evening chilled him to the bone as he stood beneath the street lamp. “I am getting too old for this,” he mutters. The juxtaposing hard-soft glow of the lamps created an eerie duality of light on the street. The longshadows dancing in the wind-blown lamplight. The headlights shine on him briefly as the…