CARCASS The sun keeps flying across the sky from one mountain to another. On this fateful day, we camp at Willow Creek where, fifteen years…

NO RECOMPENSE On a cold November morning, he made his first delivery. He stuck to personal shopping on the northeastern end of the county where…

GRIZZLY 25’S (A story from Matt Rowan’s collection How the Moon Works, now available from Cobalt Press.) There was hair, a lot of it, but more…

CLEANING THE BATHROOM AND OTHER CHORES YOU WON’T DO The bathroom is a trap of long black hairs and spiderwebs that I can’t tell apart.…

CRAZY DAYCARE It’s been so long since I showered, I can’t even say when it was. I do remember feeling pelted with pebbles instead of…

THE NAKEDNESS OF OZONE The little boy stood shirtless before the gaping mouth of an open locker. His hands hesitated at the waistband of his…

ANOTHER DAY ON GOD’S GREEN EARTH Calvin’s heart failed; then he drowned.  At the funeral, Marva avoided all speculation.  “I heard the twins were playing…

MUSCLE MEMORY Emily surveys the basement. A plastic Christmas tree whose base once collected presents that evolved from Play-Doh to Polly Pocket to make-up sets.…

WHERE THEY PLANT THE TREES IN STRAIGHT LINES Each chair in the restaurant is different. Tall backs. Low backs. Red cushions. Tan cushions. None of…

REPARATION Tebogo hates these trips from their lonely countryside in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, into neighboring towns on Edmund’s cheque expeditions. Well, they were Edmund’s, but…

MY HOROSCOPE, AKA SIGNS “Aquarians are subject to sudden ‘Eureka!’ moments that can change everything. The Aquarius man has the trait of a fresh un-blinkered…

PUERTO RICO IS NOT A STATE Rong arrived in San Juan on a bright Saturday in the middle of December. Like other Saturdays throughout Puerto…

SICK HEADACHE Look closely. You are where it began—at a time before polio shots, seat belts, and television. A time when visitors entered houses through…