Fat bodies float. Or at least that’s what Ethan Gaines reassures himself as he dips a toe off the swim ladder into the shallow end of the YMCA pool. The clock above him reads 8:16 p.m. He pauses to watch the glare of the facility’s fluorescents dance upon the surface of the water, bouncing reflections […]
A Thursday. Before sunrise Sain wrote the four words on the piece of paper she folded up and slipped into the band of her bra, then chivvied along until it was tucked into her right armpit. Then down the lane to meet the Kennick woman, to let the new foal out into the paddock for […]
After visiting the Pelham Family Funeral Home, all four men bought coffins. The men claimed they weren’t drinking, but nobody believed that. Arlene Lansbury saw the four of them walking down Court Street, clinging to one another’s shoulders for support, their legs stumbling worse with each step, all the while singing at the top of […]
Avery was late again and Phoebe alternated her time between pacing the stage, checking her phone, chewing her nails, and cursing him under her breath. She’d already had to fight David to incorporate this effect into the play in the first place, and every delay or hiccup made it that much more likely that he […]
You’re dead, and this is unfortunate, but the world is full of unfortunate things, my dear. You’ll need to answer some questions now. Know that I only accept the truth. Firstly— Are you ready to be dead? Let me face whatever comes next, even if what comes next is nothing at all. I have no […]
10. When I woke up yesterday morning, I saw how Mom had spelled out HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE in magnetic poetry on the fridge before she left for work. It was a stupid thing to write. I knew from hunting with Jill what real hell looked like. But I also knew what Mom really meant: […]
I hadn’t yet asked Mom if I could stay. Stalling, I pressed my thumbnail to palm in rows of crescent moons, the sun fading to a shimmering yolk behind the trees. A gust of wind sent them swaying, cottonwoods leaning toward the sugar maples. Budding branches clinked together as if passing on a whisper. As […]
Six months following his death I began having my father’s dreams. I hadn’t seen him in years, but to my surprise he left his house to me. It’s an understatement to say we were estranged. My father was a monster. The house was a small bungalow built sometime between the world wars on Alphabet Row, […]
Hell is a city much like London—Percy Bysshe Shelley When Mrs Fernyhough was found dead, her landlady was on holiday. The police were called to the squat, dank house just off Commercial Street, that funereal enclave of post-war decay, where she had rented the attic room for the past ten years. Miss Fletcher, her downstairs […]
When the war came, Paul was evacuated one morning. He was put firmly on the train and waved off into the west. London, they told him, was a death trap, even though his side was going to win anyway. These words filled him with anxiety and hope at the same time, but both emotions faded […]
