“Remember, the entrance door to the sanctuary is inside you.” — Rumi, 13th Century I had a wife once, aeons ago; but I can't remember her name. I can’t even see her face in my dreams anymore. I must write all this down before any more of those...
“Ye needn’t think the only folks is the folks hereabouts,” — H.P Lovecraft, The Dunwich Horror. “Even in this world, more things exist without our knowledge than that with. And the order in creation which you see is that which you have put there,” — Judge...
“The past and future dreams us, lays on our bodies like skin, so that we might pass the days with grace. To us were given all the ways and the obligation to travel. To us were opened all the roads of heaven, all the tunnels...
"Reverend and Mrs. Decan, the doctor will see you now.", the receptionist announced. "Thank you, Melissa. Tell your mother that green bean casserole was delicious." "I will, Reverend." The receptionist replied, glancing up while shuffling through the mess of paperwork that blanketed her small desk. "Will you be...
"Yea, buddy," Jason Biggs shouted, smiled, and then gulped down the rest of his brewski as Bon Scott fabulously articulated that he was on the highway to Hell. He crushed the can and tossed it out of his open window. His gray chest hair fluttered...
"A bit of a lemon, isn't it?" Sheila asked as she hefted the first box out of the moving van. A short, high chuckle responded to her question as she turned around to see Matt, her husband, striking a superhero pose with his fists at...
The small town lay still in the wake of its most eventful annual celebration, St. Patrick's Day. Every year on the anniversary of the Saint's death, all the local residents from miles around fill the square and line the streets, clad in their tackiest emerald...
Eight months ago, my life changed forever. I couldn’t tell you what the weather was like that day, what I had for breakfast, or even the first song I heard on the radio before I left the house. In fact, I can’t honestly remember any...
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The meteorite that hit Southdale wasn't especially spectacular. In the middle of one spring evening, it lit up the sky for a brief moment. It didn't turn night into day by any means. It merely streaked across the horizon and settled with a distant popping...
When I was growing up, we had an amazing toy store in our town. It was designed to resemble a medieval castle with multiple floors and took up an enormous portion of a nearby strip mall. You wouldn’t find national toy brands like Mattel or...
As a kid, I read a ton of sci-fi. Pulp stuff, real trash, most of it, but it inspired me. It told me that there were things out there to be discovered, that there were new worlds to open up. No matter how far we’d...
Today’s my birthday. That’s not generally something I bring up. I don’t celebrate it. Almost no one knows when it is, and I like it that way. I don’t like being put on the spot. I don’t like the falseness of people wishing me a happy...
I was supposed to be at my friend’s wedding this weekend. And the thing is, maybe I was there? Only I’m pretty sure it was canceled. I went to the bride’s funeral. But—let me back up. I knew both Aldin and Petra from college. They met...
I thought it was just like any other construction zone. It looked the same: same cones, same signs, same trucks. And honestly, if people would learn how to drive, I probably never would have noticed any differently. But people get stupid in the face of...
It had been a whirlwind romance. Hakamiah Morrison had been head over heels for Delilah from the moment he first laid eyes on her. He was not greatly skilled in the art of seduction, or indeed even conversation, so it took a few tries to...
Obadiah had forty different words for fog. From his fishing shack on the waterfront, he watched various fogs come and go, ebbing and flowing around the town. He needed every one of the words to describe the varied types that ran their blurry touch over...
There were three things everyone could tell you about David. The first, the one everyone noticed immediately, was that he was handsome. Like, Hollywood handsome. He had a roguish charm, too, a disarming smile that lit up his face and made everything all right. Men,...
I'm from a smallish town. In a town like that, you know everyone's business, for better or for worse. You all go to the same school, shop at the same stores, show up on Sundays at the same churches. More or less, anyway. My town had...
Saturday night. It seemed to take forever to come around. I can hardly bear it, my head buzzing like a kid on Christmas Eve, goosebumps dancing across my leathery skin. “Usual time, pet?” “Please, dear. And don’t forget to feed Alfred.” “Never do, dear. Never do.” Now off you...
