Lights Stories

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...

All the images of Christmas past run together like the mix for some sumptuous fruit cake, from which the crumbs will scatter memories, trivial and momentous, garnished by the flow of years. Each crumb falling, out of any natural sequence, so that youth overrides childhood, middle-age falls ahead of youth. Yet childhood remains forever the most crystal-clear of Christmas images, and are relived—and relived. As all the cake...

Red. Blue. Red. Blue. Like gemstones, in this case sapphireand ruby, the lights sparkled rhythmically in the rearview mirror. It was almost hypnotic, save for the fact that it was hardly calming. “Twinkle, twinkle, little star. Two girls sitting in a car. Down below the night so grim. Like angels poised and prim.” Lucy did her best to keep her hands from shaking as she maneuvered her royal blue Ranger over to the curb and...