My grandmother tried to kill me in my crib when I was two months old. She’s dead now. Did I kill her? I don’t know. It’s not a simple question, and there are no simple answers. All I remember is being covered in blood, her blood, as I lay in my crib. # I never met my father. He was a passing fancy, my mother told me. Someone to keep her loneliness at bay. I never met him, but I’ve seen him, swimming in my underwater dream...

“Don’t wait up for me,” mom said, slamming the door behind her before she could finish her sentence, her voice muffled from the other side.I sighed and grabbed the bag of popcorn from the microwave, the corners hot on my fingers. Muttering under my breath, I tore open the bag and upended it into a bowl, a waft of popcorny, buttery steam hitting me in the face.The movie started as I sat down cross-legged on the old sofa, t...

Leather clad knuckles rap the bar. Irish Jack grabs the whisky and pours a shot. "How ya be, Bill? Good week?" "Got those bastard Darcy boys, but they're thin shit for the miles rid. Need me some tender mercy tonight. Fanny free?" "Always for ya, Bill. Likes the way your Colt hangs, eh?" "Somethin' like that." Up the stairs, the door squeeks open. She's propped up on the bed, dressed in her flouncy working gown. Gloves an...

The living room television plays in the background as Sol inspects his son, Mikhail, one final time. He kneels down to polish his boots with the cuff of his sleeve till they shine. As he stands, he ensures the belt is secure and then moves around to the back. He attaches the cape and unfurls it. A shimmering golden cascade flows down almost to the ground. Sol turns Mikhail to face him and smiles with admiration. The royal...

It was her decision to take up the university place, her choice. She knew that Covid would likely cause a second lockdown: classes would be online, campus closed, precious few fresher’s events would run. She acknowledged that student life would be different but wasn’t daunted. My daughter had found what she wanted and grabbed it. She was ready to begin a new adventure, a life of independence. She moved on in spite of 2020...

Fascinating glass castle encircled by trees loaded with chocolates and creamy fountains.  She embarked on the castle and saw ladies in gowns smirking as if happiness eternally endures there. In the throne, she glimpsed the most elegant lady, her Mom. "Wake up," told her dad. She mumbled, "Beautiful Star from Heaven!"    

"A Dark Matter"(Raanana, October 4, 2018) I see you everywhere I goYou follow me even into the bedroomAnd crawl into bed beside meEntering my dreams.You are the dark sun shining your dark photons,Your shadows are my only light.You are every age you've ever been,You are the idea of youJust after I discovered I was pregnant,You are this thing growing in my bellyNow, this homunculus bursting from my wombSuckling my breast,An...

Once there was a little girl. This particular little girl was always curious. She was brimming with questions that spilled over in a constant babble of queries.  But with each answer she was provided, her curiosity grew. When she was small, her mother seemed to have all the answers. And as endless as the little girl's curiosity was so too was her mother's patience. Whenever she asked her mother a question, her mother woul...

"Jameela" Three in the morning The shuffle of Rezek’s feet wake her from her thoughts, Not that she was really sleeping. Who can sleep with so much to worry about? Her husband’s pillow is empty. Soon Yousef will come to visit us, My husband’s friend from madrasa. These days Yousef is a big-time commander in Hamas. He will ask about Rezek. Why isn’t he in madrasa like the other boys, he’ll ask, But he’ll mean why isn’t he...

“What can I do for you?” “Well, Professor Palmer, I’ve been browsing the Internet and came across your work on false memories and external indicators differentiating false and true memories,” Axel answered the man sitting behind the oversized mahogany desk. “That was based on research and clinical experience with childhood traumas such as those of rape or incest victims,” the professor explained. Axel laughed, “That’s not...

She came to me crying after the Holidays. Literally crying.  She said she never felt so mistreated in her life. It felt like all she did was cook and clean the entire time the girls and their families were here. I spent so much time taking care of them that I didn't have time to enjoy them. They were never like this when they lived with us. Why are they doing this now? This was my cue to be fatherly and set things right b...

When I was only six and my younger brother was two, our father passed away. Since then, my mother and we were dependent upon each other. Our days were difficult. My mother had to work very hard to keep our family together. The income was just enough to cover basic expenses. Until one day, my mother ushered a man into our home. She asked us to call him - FATHER. No, he was just our stepfather. I was nine that year. My step...

“You’re fat,” the little girl inside the mirror said to Em. It was long past midnight. Em’s parents and sister were in bed. Em was standing in front of the closed door of her room, where her Dad had hung the full length mirror. She regarded the reflection. The person in the mirror looked just like Em. She wasn’t Em, though. She wasn’t even a little girl, though she looked like one. She wasn’t Em, wasn’t a little girl, pro...

"Such pretty feet. I've always thought you had pretty feet, Mom." He washed and massaged her feet as she was lying in the bed there in the front room of a son's house. All her children were there in the house. Perhaps drinking coffee in the kitchen. Somewhere reminiscing. They were there. All six of them. "Well, why didn't you ever tell me that? It would have been a nice thing to hear."  She was propped up on some pillows...

"This tour guide doesn't know what he's talking about. You don't need to go all the way to the student union for lunch — the coffee shop at the library is better, faster and cheaper than the cafeteria. The selection isn't quite as wide, but...""Listen, I appreciate your insight, but you really don't need to be here. It is 'new student' orientation, after all, not 'new student and chaperone.'""We aren't the only mother and...