One More Ride
Father worked the rails. Free passage was our rite. Hours rocking back and forth to the constant rhythm of the train. Foreheads pressed to cool fuliginous windows, scenery streaming by at a giddying pace. Large cities, small towns, virescent farm land, all ablur. The somnolent clickety-clack of wheels motoring onward. Read more
Sweetheart
I watched the sky fade from a pretty pink color to dark. I sat in my room dreading the night, as I always did. The front door opened and all I heard was the sound of heavy boots walking in the house. I sighed and left my room. I opened Read more
After the Breakdown
If I had not exploded, I would never have found my fuse. I would not know where my dynamite is stored or who I should let light my fire. If I didn’t fall apart, I never could have known the brilliance of love, the pain of ignorance or the power of Read more
Her
A rare chance to leave work early, and pick my youngest child up afterschool. Parents I recognize only vaguely, cluster in the playground, some talking in groups, others marginalised, standing alone on the periphery. I stare into my phone, looking preoccupied, the stark divisions shredding my nerves with anxiety. She’s Read more
Her Unwitting Accomplices
As the automatic doors swished open, my mother began her search. The grocery store’s bakery was on our immediate right. Mom zeroed in on her target, pushing her shopping cart toward a plain woman in a peacock blue trench. To keep up, my short legs moved double time. Mom’s high Read more