It was the sound of waves on Lake of the Woods that woke me. The rhythm of the swells hitting the shore made the suggestion of wind. When it was calm, I’d awaken to birdsong and water lightly lapping at the beach. Today it was the chatter of gulls and the lake’s violent cadence that […]
The townspeople knew when to avoid Zabrina. Her body, she would murmur, was a bundle of sharp sticks slowly splitting her skin. A darkness that was unnatural by some accounts. She would sleep in the mornings, which was, of course, the devil’s hour of rest. Unfinished hems of dresses were scattered about the floor of […]
It’s just a street, a city street. There’s no reason for him to be buttonholing strangers, grabbing their arms, saying, Don’t you see? And of course he doesn’t. But he must be imploring them with his eyes, because they keep veering away, a young woman in a gauzy white dress even crossing against traffic […]
18 Thomas’s muscles ached as he dug out another shelter for the night. He thought he could see, just on the horizon, the lights of a small, distant city glowing beneath the atmosphere. Tomorrow, he thought. He vomited several times and voided his bowels in the most ruthless and graphic way. After rinsing his mouth […]