The red bathing suit stood out from all the others, its modest cut being a departure from the scant bikinis dominating the poolside. I noticed the girl wearing it from under an umbrella. She moved with ease in and out of the water, shoulders glistening with whatever oil she’d rubbed into them. As for me, I rarely emerged from my shaded little corner, lest my pale skin burn and blister. I was self-conscious about so much t...

Ashley awoke in the middle of the night to find fifteen missed calls on her phone. Her first instinct was to wake Bill, but as she reached for him, she had an alarming thought.Wasn’t he on call last night?Ashley allowed her hand to hover briefly, indulging a momentary false assurance.Upon touching her husband, she sighed in uneasy relief as the faces of a dozen people she loved flashed through her mind. It was unexpected...

Earl Powell pushed a shopping cart filled with two huge bags of dog food up to the counter. He also had three pouches of bacon-flavored treats, several packages of flea treatments, and boxes and boxes of little blue bags. There was very little in the cart for his own use; just a can of beans, a loaf of bread, and a jar of peanut butter. His needs were pretty simple, but he had a lot of canine mouths to feed, and that was...

Implacable thoughts Like a slow dripping leak Like the drone of an alarm just out of reach Too persistent to let me sleep Too soon, I think morning has come, and rise The steady trill of rumination follows me through a mirrorless house to a set of drapes Taking a breath, I throw them aside bracing for too much light But what greets me is stellar beauty An expanse of dark broken by moon broken by star after star Broken by...

I'm lying on the floor of our rec-room, watching cartoons. I'm about eight years old and this is pretty much all I do on a Saturday morning. I hear the front door slam, a familiar sound, and glance up only when I realize that my father is coming down the stairs of our split-level home. He peeks over the railing at me, and says, "Come on..." He is sweaty, and covered with grass clippings. His black curls have already begun...

My name is Marcus Diamond. Some people ask if that's my real name, and I just tell them sure it is, if I want it to be. See, there are two kinds of people in the world - those with, and those without. I was born without. But you just watch. I'm going to be with someday. So my name suits me, even if nobody knows it yet. I'm a diamond in the rough. I've been on the grift since I was twelve years old. My old man taught me. H...

True Illumination There was once a lush and beautiful forest teeming with life, and any who passed through it felt refreshed and cheerful. Its borders stretched all the way from the village of Terrapacia, on the west, to the great waters of Undalar, on the East, and every time the people of the village held a wedding, or a feast, or a celebration of any kind, they held it in the forest. Now to the North, in the craggy wil...