Late one night, the police phoned to inform us that one of my grandfather’s buildings was on fire. We rushed up to Brook Farm, but could only stand and watch as his old wooden barn burned to the ground. The firemen let us stand nearby as they pumped water from the nearby stream. As we watched the barn crackle and burn, my parents went into the farmhouse to check on grandfather. The real sadness came as my ninety-three-yea...

He walked into the bedroom, ready for bed. His wife of sixty-five years was already in bed with the covers pulled up to her chin. Her hair was in curlers, her teeth in a glass on the bedside table. As he took his teeth out and put them in a glass on his side, she pulled the covers down revealing she was wearing the red silk nightie she reserved for special nights. “Trick or treat?” She smiled. He sighed. “Doesn’t matter....

From the first night in that house, female moans invaded my dreams. Now, I awake to a new sound- tap tap tap- as if someone's rapping on glass. I look, but there's nothing outside the window. "Over here," whispers her melodic voice, luring me toward her. I find myself staring into the antique mirror. She appears- hauntingly beautiful! Her face angelic. Her body by Aphrodite. "Closer," she begs. I cannot help but obey. Her...

Each month, I prayed for him. Then, tears fell. She birthed, but couldn't keep, what my empty space desired. Three lives converged through love as she placed his tiny hand in mine, writing new stories for us all.

It was a long day and you were the only thing I was looking forward to. There was an empty place where you were sitting so recently. My disappointment crushed down on me as I couldn't believe you were gone. I stood there my arms at my side, my fists clenched as the reality nailed me right between the eyes. It wasn't supposed to be like this, it was totally unexpected. I tried to think of the clues I might have missed, but...

To everyone in the room, she seemed like just a normal girl wearing Vans, blue jeans, and a red hoodie. Rachel didn’t mingle much that night, she was unusually quiet!Only a few hours before, she’d been traumatised, whilst trying to withdraw cash from a cashpoint machine?A man in a mask crept up behind her and demanded money out of her account. In the panic her mind went blank, she forgot her pin!Luckily, she remembered it...

I remember there were two of them, a man and a woman. They both wore masks? First, they sat me in the chair, then shone a bright light in my face. The man shuffled behind me and began to question my plans for the weekend? I couldn't reply because the woman was busy stuffing something into my mouth. It was horrible! I closed my eyes, I just wanted it to be over. Next thing I remember, someone handed me a glass of water! “R...

We sat at our favourite table by the window. I’m not the jealous type, but I know what I saw last night! There you were, with a smug grin on your face. Shamelessly, licking your lips like a brazen hussy. The same lips that I thought were reserved for me? You tried to act nonchalant as the waiter cleared the table, you knew exactly what you were doing! You always get your own way! Without shame, you gazed into my eyes from...

When I got home todayYou were gone It wasn’t just your presence But your joy Your vivacity Your essence Your car Wasn’t on the drive The house was silent Nothing was quite right Cushions out of place Dishes, where they were left Drawers cascaded Empty A hand written note Propped above the mantle My name etched In your blue script Gone Shopping Back soon

To everyone in the room, she seemed like just a normal girl wearing Vans, blue jeans, and a red hoodie. But hers was an appearance intended to blend rather than deceive. She once wanted to disappear. But today was different. Anticipation replaced self-pity. Excitement replaced self-hate. Like an emerging butterfly, she shed her restraint. Off slipped her shoes. Her coat hit the floor. She stepped forward. It was her time....

I come here every day and think of you. I recall those secret, stolen moments that will forever be ours. I remember how we talked and giggled; of how we shared, and discovered each other. In that tranquil meadow, we joined and found a completeness I will cherish for eternity. Do you too remember? Do you still feel the breathless hunger and the passion; that desperate, urgent, forbidden love that made us one? You are gone...

Mom screams. Short and piercing like she’s just stumbled across something startling. Her shriek comes from downstairs. ‘Sounds like she’s in the kitchen but why is she awake and out of bed at this hour?’ She screams again, calling my name. ‘She needs me.’ I spring from my bed, confused. Scared. Pausing at the threshold to my room, I look left. Mom’s door is open. I look right and see what appears to be the dim flicker of...

We had moved, thousands of miles away. Dad claimed it was a job transfer, but I knew the real reason. I knew it was because of the shadow in the house.  At first, my parents didn’t believe me. Said I was just hearing things; all in my head. Then, out of the blue, Dad announced a job offer, ironically very far away.  I felt safer the first night after the move. There was something oddly comforting about the new home’s unfa...

To everyone in the room, she seemed like just a normal girl wearing Vans, blue jeans, and a red hoodie. Except for one, for him, she’s the antithesis of normal. His baby-blue eyes focus; sartorial elegance, that’s true, but he’s hearing the clarion call of love from the heartbeat under that regular hoodie. She’s his everything; his eyes fill with tears. Then his whimper, barely heard by others, pierces her. Wrapping him i...

To everyone in the room, she seemed like a normal girl, wearing Vans, blue jeans and a red hoodie. Her hands were both raised high above her head, swaying to music from her iPod. Sierra's body molded the jeans nicely. No one knew what was on her iPod, but it was mostly French music and several types of electronica.  The bus was crowded and warm. But all eyes were on the girl that could dance like an angel. Large but round...