Category: Snapshots of Fiction

Women Hold the Cards

Carol balanced the thick slice of chocolate cake on a spatula waiting for Phyllis to hold up the plate. “You think she wants ice cream with this?” “Of course,” Phyllis said, clenching her cigarette between her teeth. Blanche …

Peaches

When Matilde woke, the sky hung low over the farmland and the dark green smudge of forest on the far side of the pasture. Pulling on her sweater, she reminded herself to find a suitable substitute for the …

Shape Up

“Tommy Horn, you better shape up or ship out.” A hush descended upon the classroom. Someone coughed. Tommy sat back down in his desk chair and gaped at the textbook in front of him. Algebraic formulations swam on …

Thin

  I adore my apartment. I have to be the luckiest woman on the planet, or at least on the Grand Canal. I moved into the renovated palazzo last fall after my friend went back to London and convinced her …

The Telegram

Miss Templeton stood on her tiptoes with her back to the classroom. The lines drawn up the back of her calves with eye pencil tightened below her sturdy woolen skirt. She reached up and waved the eraser back …

The Plot Thickens

Camma pulled some fat from the carcass and dropped it into the soup. She stirred it slowly over the fire, which warmed the small hut in the dense woods.  The sunlight struggled through the leaves and into the …

Nick-nak

It hasn’t been the best day, but it certainly hasn’t been the worst. It started with puking out the butterflies in my stomach. Mom called it “freshman jitters.” Dad said something stupid about “freshmanitis.” I have no idea …

In Other News

“In other news: The vaccine war continues…” A busty news anchor, more flash than fact, chirped from the TV in my mother’s room. “Mom, Would you turn that shit off?” She ignored me like she always does. I …

Sunny Skies

Air raid sirens punctured the night air, bringing Adelaide’s brief respite in Saint James Park to a sudden end. So long, to the flowerbeds and to the blossoms on the newly minted trees. Please God, she thought, please …

Finally

“Finally! God, I thought you’d never get here.” Rachel snapped her gum as she greeted me. The snakelike clouds drifted across the full moon, which lit the deserted playground. “Sorry, I couldn’t get out of the house. My …