fiction
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Cast No Shadow
Darkness wasn’t a lack of light in Grandma Marla’s house. It was something else. Something present. The first time I noticed it, I was six, chasing a dropped spoon under the dining table. My fingers reached for silver, but touched… Continue reading
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The Night Unending, Part IV
At first, it was just his name that slipped away. He noticed it when he tried to hum a song from his childhood and couldn’t remember the lyrics, then couldn’t remember the tune, then couldn’t remember why it had mattered.… Continue reading
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The Night Unending, Part III
He found it by accident, or maybe it found him. He had wandered far past the dead-end paths of the street, where the moon refused to shine, when a glow shimmered in the distance—a pulse of green and blue and… Continue reading
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Animal Husband
It started with the teeth. Not the growing or sharpening of them—the shedding. Molars clattered into the sink like coins. Canines splashed into soup. He’d smile and leave bloody holes where speech used to live. “He’s just under stress,” his… Continue reading
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The Night Unending, Part II
Octavius scraped together a flashlight, some plastic-sealed food, and a coat that smelled faintly of old dreams. His apartment was cavernous and echoing. He stepped into the night’s impossible thickness with his odd little bundle. The air tasted like rust… Continue reading
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The Night Unending, Part I
Octavius awoke to a dense darkness that felt wet, like being submerged in ink. A velvet absence pressed against his eyelids from the inside out, humming softly, like a song only mirrors could sing. He couldn’t tell if his eyes… Continue reading
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A Very Dysfunctional White Elephant
The Hensley family Christmas was always a volatile affair, but this year promised to be especially catastrophic. Aunt Carol, freshly divorced, arrived with a bottle of merlot she refused to share. Uncle Greg had already dipped into his “festive flask,”… Continue reading
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The Tree That Started At All
The crash echoed through Sophie’s tiny apartment, followed by a muffled curse. She stared at the toppled Christmas tree, ornaments strewn like glittering casualties across the floor. Her first Christmas in her new place wasn’t going as planned. A knock… Continue reading
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Under the Mistletoe
Beth loathed the office Christmas parties, their hollow cheer, stale garlands, and forced laughter that echoed too sharply off sterile walls. But this year, something felt off. Shadows seemed to pool deeper in the corners, the flicker of the fluorescent… Continue reading
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The Watcher’s Tapes – Part VII: Recordings
Elliot stood in the dim light of his kitchen, staring at the box of tapes on the counter. They felt heavier now than they had when he first brought them home, as though they carried the weight of all the… Continue reading
God Is In The Radio 