He didn’t like to meet people’s eyes. He never had, really, but he had only noticed it as he’d aged. It had been something he’d always done — looking past people while they spoke to him, or focusing his eyes in entirely the opposite direction. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to pay attention to … Continue reading Eye Contact
Tag: Flash Fiction
Beyond
It moved toward them, inexorably: blank and white, an end to their eyesight. They could not see or know beyond it. “What is it?” one asked, curious. Interested. “What is it?” another asked, afraid. Full of trepidation. “I don’t know,” said a third. “We should run,” said the fearful one. “It frightens me.” “We cannot … Continue reading Beyond
Others
Sometimes, we see a person in a single moment, and we know who they are. Belinda saw the young man on his phone, talking. She didn’t listen to what he said. She didn’t need to listen. There he was, walking swiftly through the door, paying her no mind. She didn’t matter to him. All he … Continue reading Others
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
Mother Earth and Father Ceiling
There was a time, they say, when Mother Earth and Father Ceiling held each other in a tight embrace. They loved each other so that they stayed pressed together, face to face, with only the smallest space between them. Times were hard, then, for our ancestors. They crawled on their bellies between Mother and Father. … Continue reading Mother Earth and Father Ceiling
Into Goodness
It began with simple mistakes: Andy couldn’t find his keys one day, or he missed an appointment he had scheduled because he forgot to write it down, or he came home from the grocery store with completely different stuff from what Mel had asked him to retrieve. Then it got worse. Andy couldn’t remember … Continue reading Into Goodness
Dear Deirdre
Dear Deirdre — I’m writing to you because I’m confused. I guess you already know that. People don’t write you when they have it all sorted, do they? Sorry. I’ve never written anything like this. I think that I might be a bad person. I told someone I love them and I don’t know if … Continue reading Dear Deirdre
He Said to Her
The first time, he said to her, “It won’t happen again.” He promised, and she believed him, and he believed himself. Because what reason did he have to lie? He loved her. He wanted her in his life. He respected her. He hadn’t done it on purpose. He hadn’t planned to do it, or set … Continue reading He Said to Her
She Believed
He told her she couldn’t do it, so she didn’t. He told her she wasn’t smart enough, and she wasn’t. He told her she wasn’t pretty enough, and she wasn’t. He told her she wasn’t talented enough, wasn’t strong enough, wasn’t friendly enough, wasn’t, wasn’t, wasn’t. And she wasn’t. He told her, you’re nothing without … Continue reading She Believed
Loss
“Her suffering is over.” That was the phrase Jeanne’s doctor had used, when Jeanne finally passed. Violette ran her hand over her mother’s gravestone. It was simple, especially when compared to some of the others in the graveyard, which Violette would have labelled monuments rather than mere grave markers. Jeanne Martin, it read. 1952-2018. Sister, … Continue reading Loss
Daydreams 