I tend to think of my life as defined by my mistakes. There are more of them than successes, so it’s easier, in a way, because it’s so much easier to think of times that I’ve messed up than it is to think of times I’ve done the right thing. Mistakes are a part of … Continue reading The One Who Fails
Tag: Short Fiction
Insidious
Home is insidious. It sneaks up on you in ways you don’t expect, becoming a part of you even if you never asked for it. I don’t like it. I don’t like feeling attached to things, and I don’t like it when things happen without my consent. Nobody does. I didn’t want to live in … Continue reading Insidious
Table for More
“Mom, why are we at a table for four?” Dan’s mother had told him that this lunch date was just for the two of them. His first, fleeting thought upon seeing the extra chairs was sadness, because at one time, his father would have joined them. Then he had noticed that the table was next … Continue reading Table for More
She Is Happy
She is happy. She has always liked to do things with her hands; she has always liked to make things, and to look upon them later and say, “I made this. I accomplished something.” She still makes things, sometimes. Knitted caps or scarves or gloves. Handmade greeting cards, for birthdays and anniversaries. Simple things, perhaps, … Continue reading She Is Happy
Belonging
“Khari, do you think we belong here?” Reid sat awkwardly against the wall of Khari’s tent. He knew he was welcome here, and he knew that Khari didn’t mind his presence, but he still felt slightly uncomfortable. He liked Khari. He was pretty sure she didn’t mind him, either. He’d just never felt quite as … Continue reading Belonging
The Darkness
It began as a little pool of darkness in the corner of my office. At first, I thought it was merely a shadow like all the others, cast by the door or my chair or the leaf stuck to the outside of my window by a spider’s web. As the light shifted from morning to … Continue reading The Darkness
Gloria’s Baby
Gloria loves her baby. He is the meaning in her life; he is that which defines why she lives, and he is what she lives for. She can think of nothing else in her life that has ever meant as much as him: not her parents, not her siblings or her grandparents, and not any … Continue reading Gloria’s Baby
Question
“Teri.” That name, more than any other, is not normally hard to speak. Justine’s connection to Teri is deep and full of history. Justine does not like people, and she doesn’t often speak to them or let them into their lives. Teri is an exception, but this utterance is different. Behind it, days of thoughts … Continue reading Question
The Worst Thing
I once asked my close friends, “What’s the worst thing that has ever happened to you?” Florence, who has the blondest hair I have ever seen glint in the sunlight, said, “Oh my gosh! I had just gotten to school, right? With my Eggnog Latte, because you know I have to get every seasonal latte. … Continue reading The Worst Thing
The Woman in the Sky
He couldn’t stop after just one flight. He knew he should have, just as he knew, if he wanted to keep himself concealed, that he should never have taken that first flight. Using his Talent, though — truly using it — had become something like an addiction. He felt like someone who’d been bound to … Continue reading The Woman in the Sky
