Any mother who has more than one child will admit-if she’s honest-that she has one child who worries her more than the others. This has nothing to do with love, but rather some children’s propensity to find trouble-the child most likely to get in a fight at school, or picked […]
I’m hungry. I don’t usually wake up hungry. Usually a post-sleep panic grips my stomach and doesn’t let go for two or three hours. Five if I was drinking the night before. Even if it was a little bit, I won’t tolerate breakfast. Today was different. I got out of
They told me I was lucky to survive the car crash. As if my life was really worth living in that condition. I was headed home from cheerleading practice that day. I often think back on that moment, riding in the passenger seat of my boyfriend’s car, the AC on
Won’t You Share With Me? Read More »
It’s a stabbing pain, really. It comes suddenly. Without warning. I don’t know how many doctors I’ve seen. Migraine? Migraine medications didn’t help. Tension headaches? Please. I’m fine most of the time. But then it hits. It hits right behind my eye. It attacks me. Like some tiny demon with
I wasn’t always alone. I used to have friends. Four or five, at least. Good friends, I mean, actual friends, the kind who matter to your life. I’m pretty sure I had four. I don’t think there were five. I’m going to tell this story as it probably happened. Otherwise, it’ll be full of “I think”s and “I guess”s and “it must have been”s. So just know that this is true, as far as I can put the pieces together. There’s a lot of guesswork and probably a bit of wishful thinking, but I’ve done my best.
She’s Waiting in the Reflection Read More »
I had always loved this one cemetery ever since I was a little girl. Not only were the grounds beautiful, but the cemetery itself was absolutely massive. I always imagined it as a fantasy world, or a gateway to a totally different dimension where the souls of the departed could
Would You Like to Feed the Birds? Read More »
Cryptozoology has always been a minor interest of mine. I say minor because it was something I’d only enjoyed casually: a few internet articles here and there, scrolling through a couple of pages on a Tumblr blog dedicated to it, maybe watching one of those Bigfoot documentaries. You know, that
Henry had gone missing in Mexico weeks ago, and Lois kept getting these bizarre letters in the mail. She had assumed the first four envelopes she’d received in the first four days of the month afterward were to the wrong address or a mistake. However, the fifth envelope contained a
Has anyone else seen the post yet? The guy messages someone whose phone number is identical to his apart from the last digit, which is either one number up or down. I scrolled past it like any other post you see on the internet, gave it a quick chuckle and
Never Meet your Number Neighbor Read More »
Dad said a man was coming from the city to photograph us tomorrow. I never had a photograph taken of me before. My parents had one taken with James when he was a baby. Eliza and I weren’t born yet. The picture sits over our mantle, embroidered in a gold
The Awful Thing We Did to Eliza Read More »
As a child, I lived in a small town with an even smaller circle of friends. A circle of friends that needed something to do, in a town with nothing. We were the type of kids that would run through abandoned buildings or start rumors of the creepy house on
The No-Peeking Game Read More »
Vanna-Isabella Osborne was only two years old when the tests began. Every day, she’d be awoken at dawn by her crazed parents, before being stripped bare and strapped onto a cool metal table. No matter how much she screamed and cried, it wouldn’t stop her parents from stabbing her eyes,
I’ve done something terrible. Or great. I’m not sure which. This isn’t exactly my story. It’s the story of a girl named Arianna, a friend at my school. My only friend at school, actually, and even then I’m kind of stretching the term. I’m not popular. Neither is she. Or wasn’t, anyway. But she’s not going to tell the story, so you get my outsider perspective on it.
My Friend Became Weirdly Popular Overnight Read More »
Fleur Breckenridge school is closing this October. It was with heavy hearts that the faculty of our elite establishment announced the permanent closing of our beloved Fleur Breckenridge Academy. Over the last two years, we have been fighting to keep our school’s name from being dragged through the dirt. However,
Blake Gardner awoke to an oppressive, physical darkness. It embraced him. As the cold shadows flowed around him, he felt himself falling; slowly but surely. He tried to reach out, to flail and to grasp, but only pain greeted him. Something bit into his wrists like fiery needles. His hands
“I can’t sleep,” she whispered as she crawled into bed and spooned against my back. “Jesus, you’re cold,” I murmured. She only snuggled closer, throwing her leg over mine. I lay there for a few beats, caught between my alcohol-induced sleep and wakefulness, until I realized whatever this cold thing
“My daddy always picked me up at the bus stop.” I was surprised by a tiny voice saying that, in the cramped corridors of the crappy apartment complex my brother used to live in. The girl was like a cornered kitten in every way. I asked her age and she
My Daddy Always Picked Me Up At the Bus Stop Read More »
Before I start I should mention that the names of the crew who worked on the movie have been either changed or omitted. That being said, in 2016 an up-and-coming film director started work on a film that he thought would get his name out there. He was already gaining
Driving down the road far from home, on my way back from work – I’m surrounded by pastures and rural country houses. Late in the night, dark but backlit by a pale moon I drive fast, but not too fast. I’m tired. The day’s work has pushed me over the
When I was a baby, I had a mobile that hung over my crib. I remember the shapes, the circles with their patterns of dots and the wires connecting them to each other. It had a motor that made the branches swing around, and the circles would twinkle and wink in the moonlight that came in through my window at night. That mobile is one of my earliest memories, maybe even my first. I can remember lying there looking up at it and feeling warm, safe and content.
There’s Safety in Circles Read More »
I hate scarecrows. I have ever since I was little. I found something about the dolls stuffed with straw unsettling. I remember my parents tried to help me get over this fear by telling me things like, “They’re not scary, they only want to be friends” or some other lame
Why I Hate Scarecrows Read More »
“Jedidiah, it’s me, God. Are you listening?” I perk up and try to focus. It’s been a while since God has talked to me. I whisper, just in case anyone else is in the computer lab with me, “yes.” “Good. Jedidiah, listen closely and whatever you do, do not
I Heard the Voice of God Read More »
Part 1: The Man Called Pathos The man finished the rest of his meal, threw the wrappers and other garbage into the nearest trashcan, left the tray in the proper place, wished the crew a good rest of the night, and exited the restaurant. His name was Michael Cannon, but
My name is Harley, and I’ve been with my boyfriend Dan for five years, lived with him for three. I love Dan more than anything in this world. He’s my best friend, my partner in crime, my biggest pest, and my number one supporter. I honestly couldn’t imagine my life
My Boyfriend’s Dreams Are Starting to Scare Me Read More »
