Sand

He stood on the edge of a pit full of sand. It flowed past him, tugging at his ankles, and though the pull was not strong, it was unending and seductive. The sand came from leagues around, moving steadily toward the pit as the sand within it drained downward, at its center, into mystery. The … Continue reading Sand →

Awakening

Chester had been married for thirteen years. His wife, Christine, was a successful lawyer at a law firm. He was a stay-at-home dad, who poured every ounce of energy he had into being a good father for their two children, Zach and Cherise, ages twelve and ten. Chester loved his wife, but he loved his … Continue reading Awakening →

In Life

“You’re different now.” “No I’m not. I’m better.” “Better is different, though. You’re proving my point.” “Better is a good thing.” “Betterness is subjective.” “You don’t think I’ve gotten better?” “I... I don’t know.” “You’ve never liked when things change.” “I guess that’s true.” “It is true. You’ve always hated change. You have to learn … Continue reading In Life →

Good

There are things in the world that you know exist but which you never expect to see in your own life. Some of these things are mundane, like packaging errors that end up giving you an extra of something you ordered online. Some of these things are horrific, like leftover explosives from a war before … Continue reading Good →

Diner Date

For most of his life, he had thought people were basically Good. He believed most people wanted to be nice to one another, and that, given the choice between hurting someone and not, that most people would choose not to do it. He thought the place he lived was safe and that the people there … Continue reading Diner Date →

Better

You think you know yourself. You think that, among other people in the world, you are the foremost authority on you. It makes sense, right? There’s nobody else that can get inside your mind, to feel and hear and see your thoughts in the way that you can. Nobody perceives the world quite like you … Continue reading Better →

The White Mask

I wasn’t the type of person who went to many parties in college. If I had to guess, I probably went to only one a week, or maybe every two weeks, depending on my mood. I just didn’t really like the atmosphere. The loud music, the alcohol, the smell of pot and sweat — it … Continue reading The White Mask →

Outside

Benji has long had a complex relationship with “outside.” It’s something he has always struggled to put into words, because his feelings don’t fall easily into nice little checked boxes in the way that he categorizes them for most things. That’s the comfortable way, to him, to be able to easily say “I hate mangoes” … Continue reading Outside →

Get Gone

“Tell me what to do to fix this,” he says, as though I have an answer for him. He’s trying to recover. He’s trying to backpedal and apologize. He’s trying to make amends for what he’s done, but he doesn’t know how, because he’s never really thought about what it means to be good to … Continue reading Get Gone →

That’s Enough

I had a hard time, today, coming up with something coherent to write. Mondays are my hardest days of the week to write, because generally, I've taken two days off of writing at that point and it feels like all the pathways to writing have crusted over a bit in the interim. I started to … Continue reading That’s Enough →