A Place in the Forest, Part XI

“I think I knew,” Ivan said slowly. “Back then I mean.  I knew but I didn’t want to know.” “When we showed you Pey,” Mava replied knowingly, then added with a hint of reproach, “You didn’t like it.” The two of them were sitting a little way downstream from the clearing, beyond the fern grove,… Continue reading A Place in the Forest, Part XI

A Place in the Forest, Part 10

Mava had returned to their place in the forest every day, for many days, but Ivan had not appeared.  That was alright.  There was so much to do in this place.  So many other creatures, from the most minute ant, clay-red and soft as a smudge, to the most gigantic moose, imperial and somber-eyed, passed… Continue reading A Place in the Forest, Part 10

A Place in the Forest, Part 9

It was already dusk when Ivan’s father beckoned him from the open doorway.  The cool blue light of evening hovered thickly just outside the house; descending the two front steps, his father was quickly immersed in it, the warm yellow of firelight draining from his head, his shoulders, last of all his feet.  Uncertainly, Ivan… Continue reading A Place in the Forest, Part 9

A Place in the Forest, Part VII

“Mava,” Ivan called. “Are you sure about this?” Mava turned and looked back at him.  The light coming from him was green but it seemed to be filtered, as if it was passing through a thick fog.  His expression was earnest, open, holding nothing back.  Even had she not been able to sense his emotion,… Continue reading A Place in the Forest, Part VII

A Place in the Forest, Part VI

“I’m ready now,” Ivan said. “I want you to show me today.” Mava looked up from where she was planted on hands and knees with her nose nearly brushing the moss, studying a pair of tiny snails with rose-pink shells and pearlescent flesh.  Her small horns twitched in Ivan’s direction and he noted that although… Continue reading A Place in the Forest, Part VI

The Visit

“Oh Addy, come on.  You can’t wear that.” Her mother’s voice is wounded, as if Addy chose her clothes intentionally to disappoint.  Addy looks down at herself, her cargo shorts, velcro sandals, and second-favorite t-shirt, the one with the frog on it. “Wear the dress you wore to Teddy’s baptism,” her mother continues. “With the… Continue reading The Visit

A Little About the Author

When I was a small child, my mom’s nickname for me was Elf Queen. During that first period of my life (when I wasn’t voraciously reading) I was constantly creating and inventing characters and worlds, whether by drawing, writing, or becoming them. As young as five or six years old, after writing my first-ever story… Continue reading A Little About the Author

Ecstasy with Emma

The drugs start kicking in almost immediately.  Coming up I think is the phrase.  I can tell I’m slightly off when I immediately rip open the wrapper of the granola bar before the guy even hands me my change, I’m not hungry I’ve just forgotten the order in which I would usually do things.  I… Continue reading Ecstasy with Emma

Brooklyn Short Story in Two Acts

“Oh shit, here he comes.” Amy looked up from the partial shelter of the doorless closet that Mike generously referred to as “the kitchen.”  It did contain the box of bagels (which waited in a disintegrating antechamber every morning when Amy unlocked the back door just before dawn, along with two large pastry boxes full… Continue reading Brooklyn Short Story in Two Acts