Vera by Lydia Host Vera’s hands were stuffed with sawdust. There was shouting, muffled behind two doors. The cabinets, doors, counters, the whole kitchen looked like a tapestry. Her body was miles away; yet her hands could touch the cabinets, which to her surprise did...
Dirrty Gurl(z) by Nina Fosati Isolated in the arid drylands, elders in Kendra’s tribe warned of the dangers ahead. They spoke of forebears who, lured by the seductive sounds and hues, lost themselves. “Daughter of our heart,” they warned, “Beware. If you must...
Stork by Ashley Pearson With its mammoth mouth and oversized wings, the stork has always struck me as a strange creature to represent birth. As a mostly mute bird, the only sound coming from a stork would be one of alarm, perhaps because a newborn has suddenly been...
Later-in-Life Romance by Edith Cook Call him Garth; he is of Scottish extraction. Sometimes charming, always interesting, he is world-wise and politically astute. A good-looking oldster, very tall with dark, dark eyes, he sports a small mustache and still owns most of...
A Warrior Obliges, 1996 by Lourdes Dolores Follins When I enter the room, Gramma quietly lies still, her petite frame resting in a mechanical hospital bed. It’s one o’clock in the afternoon and she’s in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. Her black hair, badly in need...
Jesus with Seasonal Depression by Caitlin Upshall Lazarus is not resurrected; not on time, anyway. He is less like a quick-rise miracle and more of a sourdough starter. His sisters hover by the door, waiting. Martha smooths the edges of her dress and spit shines the...
