It was in the grass. He thought it was dead. It seemed as if it had been there for a while, like the grass had grown around its body. But it wasn’t dead. It quivered as he drew near. “Go climb a tree,” he said to it. He nudged it with the edge of his flip-flop. It sprung up as if shocked and landed on the top of his foot. As he tried to shake it off, it bit. Then it fell from his foot and ran across the yard. It pressed itself against the fence. He reached down to touch the bite and then thought … [Read more...] about Squirrel
Outlander
She was new to the city and unwittingly dressed, floral prints in the dead of winter. She worked as a waitress at a bar in the basement, biding her time. He lived in the apartment above hers. A brownstone down on its luck. She shared with four other roommates, perpetually in and out of love, and waited out the worst parts at his place, drawing blocks of her home- town on the back of his hand. She showed him her high school, the hospital where she was born. Back home, she told him, cats wore … [Read more...] about Outlander
Scars
The pitcher just struck out Esperanza Duarte. Right then redemption was up to me. I have the biggest legs of all the Lady Mantises. Daddy used to always say people here like it when you can do something special but not too special. Our town isn’t really small. We don’t have rolling hay fields or anything like that. It’s not big either, though. Teenagers like me and T don’t have much going on; of course there is more to do than go shopping and get pregnant. There’s softball. I tried to give … [Read more...] about Scars
An Introduction to Cosmography, Parts 1 through 5
The First Voyage of Amerigo Vespucci In the beginning, so much depended upon pine nuts and morels. No, not buffalo as you’ve been taught—those came much later. In the beginning, it was the giant beaver whose shadow darkened the North American food chain, and who lugged his heavy beaver tail from state to would-be state as he fled the arrows of native hunters. Then corn was planted. The seeds of future books on improper diet and misuse of natural resources were sown in some southwestern … [Read more...] about An Introduction to Cosmography, Parts 1 through 5
Heliotrope
The placenta began to speak a month into my affair with Nick. The baby had gone right down after his lunch—Tofu Pup, rice cake, cup of orange juice. The OJ was our secret. My sister didn’t like Beau to have juice because of the sugar, but I felt sorry for the kid. I believe in sugar. The placenta said, “Cold.” At least that’s what it sounded like. Which made sense—it was in the freezer. I opened the door and there it sat in its smudgy Ziploc, the blue-and-green-seal lips open at one … [Read more...] about Heliotrope