On:

It never rainsin the Gingerbread Forestbecause that would be catastrophic—houses turned to mush,the occupants smotheredbeneath a slurry of crumbled walls,delicious but deadly. You’d thinkthat endless sunshinewould be a lovely thing,but it’s not.Even filteredthrough leaves and branches,the light is too constant,too bright,too much. As for those trees,deprived of rainthey are forcedtoContinue Reading

On:

It’s a Thursday in Novemberwhen the robot spits out the poem.Of course it’s written poems before,reams of them, but they were terrible,full of silly rhymes and clichésand bland, repetitious sentimentslike fourth-rate greeting cards. But this poem is a masterpiece,with crisp language and metaphorsthat are deep without being arcane.It can appealContinue Reading

On:

Lea discovers the photographwhile sorting through the layersof Granddad’s life, cleaningthe mess that so many years of livingleaves behind. Wedged in the seamof a cardboard box, a black and whitepicture of a little boy—dark hair,round cheeks, wide mouth.As soon as Lea sees him, she can hearhis voice in her head,Continue Reading

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TV is Ellie’s escapeafter a long day of work;she likes slipping into livesshe’ll never have, losing herselfin foreign places, giving her heartto fictional characters.The British sitcom Ghostsis her favorite because she adoresthe ridiculousness and lovelinessof this found family of dead souls.Of course she knows ghosts aren’t real,but she can’t helpContinue Reading

On:

Everyone else has finishedand left the table,gotten on with their lives,but Connor has falleninto the black holethat is turkey cutlet night;he is stuck to his chairuntil he finishes,or dies,or has to go to bed,whichever comes first. He is alone with the enemy,and no plan of attack.His plate is an ominousContinue Reading

On:

Mathew awakes to a strange gapin his mouth, can still tastethe blood, but can’t find the toothno matter how many times his tonguecircles the landscape of his mouth.The tooth has been loose for days,wiggling and wobbling,but Mathew didn’t dare say anythingbecause his dad always talks abouttying loose teeth to aContinue Reading

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Charlotte sits on the bottom stair,small legs swinging, as her sistersets the box of crayons beside her,right within reach, all those temptingrainbow points. Ella’s face, closein hers, insists: “You must neverever crayon on the walls.”Charlotte nods seriously.Never ever. Afterwards, Charlotte sits on the couch,small legs swinging, as her sisterhelps theirContinue Reading

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Romeo, I thought I knew you. You were a sap for pretty girls (or any girl, really), a little melodramatic, but sharp-witted, and also my best friend, the only one who always understood my puns, who always understood me. When you refused to fight, I thought I understood; Tybalt’s aContinue Reading