Thunderous clouds block our path. But these clouds can dissipate. Mine can’t. Mine seep into my brain, misting my memories, casting shadows where I need the light to shine brightest. My daughter sits opposite me, squinting as our air taxi bursts through the cloudy veil into the light. It’s always sunny somewhere, I’d whisper to…
He gripped the sword in both hands as he crept up the stairs, wishing for the thousandth time that the prophecy would let him use a gun. The council had been firm on this point, offended he would even ask, but swords didn’t go with windbreakers and jeans. Mentally he reviewed the speech again: I…
Bradley is on the register for my shift. He’s the best-looking guy at Coffin Coffee. Dark skin, deep voice, and a lean, athletic build. If I didn’t have work to do, I’d consider a hook-up. I’ve seen the glances he throws my way. Alas, duty calls. The first customer through the door is a garden-variety…
We met at the End of the World Fair and decided to die together. Amidst the dodgems and the whirling teacups, with candyfloss in our hair, I fell in love when there was no time left. He was tall and fair, with eyes like the deep green sea and a laugh like the crash of…
Once a year, my mother catches the cosmic bus from Over There and we meet at the parking lot of the cemetery where she’s buried. The reincarnation insurance scheme she bought into has turned out to be the real deal. Every year Over There, she becomes a year younger and she’ll keep aging in reverse…
I fell in love with a woman made of stars. It started when I first camped in the mountains with my dad. He pointed to each of the constellations and told me their stories. My favorite were the water signs. The mother-and-son tragedy of Pisces broke me, the carelessness with which Cancer had been elevated…
Death did not come as a surprise to me. What surprised me was my appearance in death. Gone were my wings and beloved serpents. Instead, my soul had a maiden form with useless, limp, unthinking hair. Hermes appeared to escort me to the Underworld. He was achingly beautiful with the confidence of one who knew…
The fly rolls back off the tip of the rod, wisping overhead. I pull the cast forward, and the line shoots above the water. My technique is unpracticed, my hand heavy, and the recoil tangles the line. I glance toward my father standing on the bank, hoping he hasn’t noticed my building frustration. I strip…
Baleful red light crackled across the sky, outlining a mushroom cap atop tentacles, stretching down into the clouds. Conditions were perfect for the abominably misnamed “sprite” to discharge the shards that powered the airship Jubilee on long-range journeys. “You saw where it struck?” Tali asked. Her pilot, Rowan, rolled their eyes. “Yes, Captain.” Tali nodded….
You are the king’s champion, and have been for years. Everybody knows of your skill, your seeming ability to read your opponents’ movements before even they know what they’ll do. What nobody knows, however, is that in that open space of anticipation between exhalation and inhalation, in that space between breaths, people’s minds are completely…
