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...
Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. For me, it has never been about the money spent, no, it’s about the love and joy you share with those around you. It's about charity and goodwill towards mankind, as the saying goes. Nothing is...
It’s nearly Hanukkah again, the Jewish winter holiday also called the Festival of Lights. To most people, that refers to the oil that miraculously lasted much longer than it should have, keeping the eternal flame burning until more oil could be made. For me, though,...
There was always a pretty big homeless problem where I grew up. You’d see them with signs near off-ramps to the highway that asked for food or money, sometimes even in exchange for work. They’d rove in small gangs downtown, picking through dumpsters, begging for...
I’ve seen a lot of things these last few years working security for the Twin Valley Behavioral Center. For all its fancy wording, it is a long-term mental-health facility. It’s not maximum security or anything, but we still get our fair share of crazy moments...
I sat alone on the rocking chair I set up on the front porch of my new cabin the other day, just reflecting on life for a while. Ever do that? Just sit by yourself somewhere and think about all those little moments? It’s a...
When I was young, I spent a few years volunteering for a local natural science museum. I worked my way up from general volunteer to reptile handler and eventually to the chemistry department doing all sorts of amazing experiments in live shows geared towards children. ...
“Dr. Annelise Fowler,” “Annie, no one calls me Annelise.” “Alright then, Annie.” “You can call me Dr. Fowler.” Agent Romero slips a cigarette out of his pack, “You mind if I smoke, Doctor? Would you like one?” “I would mind, and no, I would not like a cigarette. Let’s just...
