My grandmother had beautiful hair. It grew in full, thick, and luscious up until the day she passed away. In the daylight, it gleamed with its own solid radiance, pure white in contrast to the sun’s golden hue. At night, under the stars and the moon, it glimmered with coruscating points of light ranging from … Continue reading The Cairn in the Woods
Tag: Short Fiction
Questions
Lana appreciates her happiness. She knows most people like to be happy, but sometimes she doesn’t feel like they truly realize the extent to which happiness is important in life. She watches her friends pursue other things so actively that she wonders whether happiness actually matters to them at all. She worries that they won’t … Continue reading Questions
Her Own Creation
She lives in a cloudy glass sphere. Through its walls, she catches brief glimpses of the world outside. This is enough, perhaps, to give her a vague impression of it, though it cannot be said she truly knows that world. She knows only her sphere. She knows they way her own voice echoes inside of … Continue reading Her Own Creation
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
Smells
Nicia has read about people who taste sounds as an impression of flavor upon their tongue. She has read, also, about people for whom number and letters are represented, in the mind, by a specific color, and about people who feel music as though it’s physically touching their body. Nicia feels kinship with these people, … Continue reading Smells
Blame
Camden has been playing Duel! for five years. He’s spent time on each one of the characters. Whenever they release a new character, he spends hours learning them, so that he can say that he knows how to play all of the characters to at least some degree of proficiency. That knowledge helps him play … Continue reading Blame
Eating
She hungered, and so she ate. At first, she ate only that which was laid before her, presented as a meal. For a time, this sated her, yet as is the way with hunger and desire, she could not be sated forever. As the days and years passed the meals given to her came to … Continue reading Eating
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
Daydreams 