Category: Snapshots of Fiction

Patience

They’d been traveling west since the snow melted in Galesburg. She noticed the first green buds on limbs back in Missouri. The trees provided much needed shade in Iowa, and in Nebraska territory she began to bleed. Her …

Sneakin’ Around

The air was warm and thick with lightning bugs and mosquitos. She’d slathered her long legs and bare arms with bug juice before she escaped the stifling confines of the cabin. She hoped Joey wouldn’t mind the smell …

The Fight

Sarah stood over the toilet bowl and emptied her bladder, being careful not to get pee on the seat.  She heard their loud and sharp voices near the restroom door. She felt their anger enter with them. Ruby …

Imbecile

“Danielle! Danielle!” Gerard called through the fog blanketing the Seine. She had left their apartment hours earlier, before sunset. Because of their row, he hadn’t asked where she was going. He had to look like he didn’t care. …

My Friend

Entering the corner store, the beeper announced my arrival with too much gusto.  I reached to take off my sunglasses, but thought the better of it.   “Hey, Ali.”  My voice cracked in my gravel encrusted throat.   …

Miss Understanding

    The librarian, named Miss Understanding, opened a can of worms when she pulled Lady Chatterley’s Lover out of the book return. A letter, used to mark a page perhaps, fell from its yellowed pages. She scanned …

High Tea

“I do wish they’d move more swiftly.” “Georgiana, you know you can’t rush a good tea.” She sat, her back rigid and removed from the moss green velvet upholstery. Her silk dress with its dizzying geometric pattern clashed …

Bedspread

“I love you, Cam. Even when you don your cloak of darkness.” She didn’t budge, but kept her head buried under her arm as she sat on her deep carpet, leaning against her single bed. I wondered why …

Vaccine

  Emily stood behind Isaac in the long line snaking its way through the gymnasium. She slowly stroked her crossed arms, savoring the feeling of her soft cardigan. “Emily, do you think it’ll hurt?” She turned to look …

The Storyteller

I was resting against the stone wall in the shade of the old oak, three of the lambs curled beside me when I heard the noise. The jingle of harnesses, the clomp of hooves, and the unmistakable sound …