Bloom

There was a flower in my yard which wouldn’t stop blooming. It grew straight up from the ground, like an arrow. I didn’t plant it. I didn’t recognize the variety, even. One stalk, one bloom, and leaves only around the base. It had a pink-red color to it, with heaps and heaps of petals. The … Continue reading Bloom →

Trio

Author's Note: This entry contains more mature themes and language than previous entries. This is fine, I thought in a panic. It’s fine. Everything’s fine and it’s going to turn out okay. “You mean you really didn’t know?” Devon exclaimed, leaning forward in his chair. I buried my face in my palms. Sheila had clearly … Continue reading Trio →

Din

Khari collapsed backward. She had just enough strength left to turn her fall into something that resembled lying down intentionally, if dramatically. She breathed, great, heaving, inhalations and exhalations that warped her entire torso with their strength. The cool night air flowed through her. She pictured it fighting against the fire within, and losing. … Continue reading Din →

Author’s Reflection: Din

I actually have quite a lot I could say about the piece that will be published today, even though, upon reading it, it may not seem dissimilar from anything else I've published here. Din is based on concepts I began to develop over eighteen years ago. The world in which Din takes places and the characters it references … Continue reading Author’s Reflection: Din →

The Shape of a Soul

Tara dropped back onto the bed, finally allowing herself to relax. Her eyes, with lids as surely weighted as though they had stones tied to them, closed. She knew she had been lucky that the birth had lasted only three hours. Her sister’s first child had taken nearly twelve to come into the world. Still, … Continue reading The Shape of a Soul →

Mr. Scary

I saw him everywhere, when I was younger. It’s strange, because I have such vivid memories of him — of actually seeing him, outside my window, or in the night as I rode in the car. The memories I have of him are just as real as my memories of throwing toy pteranodons in the … Continue reading Mr. Scary →

To Bring Silence

Today's story can be enjoyed on its own, but several elements will be easier to understand if Everything Has a Cost is read first. “Hivara’s breath,” Evran swore. He thrust his sheets from his body and twisted around in bed so that he could reach the window. He reopened it just so he could slam … Continue reading To Bring Silence →

The Darkness

They can see the darkness, across the plain, moving toward them in defiance of the sun: a great wall, pure black, erasing everything in its wake as it travels. The sun shines bright from the other side of the world, only a quarter of its way through its trek across the sky, but no matter. … Continue reading The Darkness →

White Marble

Cyrène bounced her foot impatiently. The motion sent ripples across the hem of her dress. Cyrène felt a distinct hatred for the garment and its enforced, blatant femininity. She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest in direct defiance of the way a proper lady would be expected to sit … Continue reading White Marble →

Author’s Reflection: White Marble

The story that will be posted today, White Marble, may seem less like a short story and more like a part of something else. That's because, in a way, it is. I wrote White Marble (which is just what I've titled it for posting here) as a way to explore a character from a longer … Continue reading Author’s Reflection: White Marble →