I don’t think I’ve ever told this story before. I’ve done my best to repress the memories of that year of my life. Maybe I’ve vaguely referenced certain aspects about the ordeal here and there. It would have been impossible not to, considering its impact, but I’ve never regaled it
The Commuter, dressed in a business suit and carrying a briefcase, commutes to the office each morning on the Tube. He enters Baker Street station at around 7am every weekday, and catches the southbound train towards Canary Wharf on the Jubilee Line. The station is generally not very busy at
Adam kneeled on the ground to inspect his freshly flattened tire. As he drew closer, he could hear the last bit of air hiss out from around the nail. Swearing under his breath, Adam pulled off his baseball cap and used it to fan himself. Summer days in Texas were famous for their intense heat, and this one proved to be no different. As beads of sweat already began to form on his forehead, he heard the crunch of gravel from behind. Spinning on his heels, he was met with the site of a beaten and battered pickup truck coming to a stop behind his own vehicle. The brakes emitted out a load squeak before the monstrous machine came to a halt. The door opened on rusty hinges, and a tall, slender man stepped out from the cab.
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I was supposed to be at my friend’s wedding this weekend. And the thing is, maybe I was there? Only I’m pretty sure it was canceled. I went to the bride’s funeral. But—let me back up. I knew both Aldin and Petra from college. They met in Intro to Shakespeare sophomore year and hit it off immediately. They were both dramatic types, so their relationship was pretty entertaining for all of us. You know the type I mean, right? Nothing was ever middle of the road. Things were always either fantastic or ruined. Nothing in between.
I Went To a Funeral That Was Supposed To Be a Wedding Read More »
It was an overcast and dull Saturday afternoon when I was attacked. I was twelve years old at the time and despite the threat of rain, we took to the streets as my friends usually did on the weekends. The neighborhood always seemed safe and, looking back, it was a
Late last year, I suffered a stroke. The doctors tell me that I was lucky, by which they mean I survived. On the whole, I’m not certain that counts as luck. The left side of my body was all but paralyzed. I can manage to move my leg by swinging it like a club, but all dexterity is gone. My hand is useless, its feeble movements too erratic to even hold a book. My speech is slurred into incoherence, and I have a hard time making the words I want come out, anyway. Children point and whisper when I’m out in public. I can’t blame them. Half of my face hangs slack, the muscles drooping until I look like a wax figure left out in the sun.
I’m Not Myself These Days Read More »
I’ve had this problem for as long as I can remember. In preschool, I remember being confused when they told us there were seven days in a week, because I could only ever count six. I’ve never told anyone this, not even my wife, so I’ve never really been able
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The anniversary of Layne’s death wasn’t for another three days, but when “Cochise” came on the radio as I approached that curve, I took it as a sign. Layne’s favorite song. I pressed the gas and shifted gears as Chris Cornell began to wail. The needle on the odometer crept
The trail was too quiet. I knew she was watching me from somewhere either up the steep slope to my right or from the tangle of undergrowth to my left. I would have welcomed the snap of a twig to alert me to her position but she was the apex
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I’m old. Right now, I’m 81 years old, and had to ask my granddaughter for help to write this down. You see, I have a confession before I go. My name is Emma, and I had a sister named Elisabeth, or Lisa for short. Having been born only one year
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Part 1 – The Happiest Place on Earth (Abby’s Story) My name is Abby, and I work in the Happiest Place on Earth. Well, properly, I work in the Starbucks in the middle of Epcot. Day in and day out, I get to deal with impatient, rabid Disney families and
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I thought I saw my future self as a time traveler. Less than a week ago, I was on my way to school when I locked eyes with a very peculiar person. She looked almost exactly like me. Her brown hair, the exact same length as my own, framed a
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“Look, Daddy!” Erin exclaimed in her squeaky voice that Dane always found so endearing, “See how high up Kevin’s kite is?” “I see it, Princess,” Dane replied with a smile. “He better be careful! If it goes any higher, it’s going to end up in outer space!” Erin laughed at
Part 1 It was stupid and immature. I’ll be the first to admit that. But it’s not like I killed anyone. And if you want to try to understand things from my perspective, there was really no way that I could not do it. First, because his name was Mr. Hillrow. Second,
I’ve Been Stuck in School Detention for Three Years Read More »
As the sun sank low in the evening sky, the residents of Bellmawr were still reeling from the horrors of the night before. Nearly fifteen hours after all hell broke loose at the intersection of Benigno Boulevard and Creek Road, everyone was still asking the same question: who started the
I got fired today. I can’t fault my boss for it. He called me in for the monthly review, just like every month, and asked me to show him what I’ve been working on. I opened up my mouth to tell him and realized: I had absolutely no idea. Literally, I couldn’t think of a single thing I’d done at work for the past month. Valdis, my boss, gave me a puzzled look when I didn’t respond immediately. “Your projects, Cai. How are they going? Do you need any help, additional resources?” “I…can’t remember what I’ve been doing,” I told him.
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Langley Archives: Gabriel Winters Interview with 60 Minutes, November 27th, 2015 I’ve been considering this interview for a long time. For weeks I debated even allowing it to take place. After that, I pondered the direction I would allow it to take. You see, it has been decades since I’ve
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I worked a shrimp boat called the Melissa on the gulf. Hot, sweaty work but all the shrimp you can eat, so there’s that. Captain Mike was my boss, a wizened old salt. Rough around the edges, but a good man and a good boss. I worked with him out
I enjoy running quite a bit. It might come off as a bit odd to say, but it really is important to me. I found my love for it back in high school, when I ended up drifting aimlessly onto the cross country track teams. Joining was less of an
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The wind was howling outside and the screen door kept banging against the front of the house. We were all hanging out in Mason’s living room watching TV and doing our damnedest to ignore the storm, but Jacob just kept on hollering anytime he’d hear the thunder. “Hoowee! That’s my
The land beyond the bridge had been in my family for generations, forty-four acres of farmland. My father was as rooted to it as the oak tree in our front yard. Although he was sympathetic to my plight, he was certainly not going to move just because his daughter’s college
Part 1 WORK AT CAMP OAKWOOD! LOOKING FOR MAINTENANCE STAFF! NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED! The ad stuck out like a sore thumb on the wall at a coffee shop I frequented. It was also new, given that I was at the coffee shop the previous day and the poster wasn’t there.
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It was a gloomy yet peaceful night as I searched my mind for inspiration. Unable to think properly, I lazily put my elbow on the table and leaned on my arm, letting a yawn escape my mouth. After a few minutes, I sloppily typed up the first thing that came
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