Dan stood by the window of Hod's study, watching the storm outside. The fire cracked and popped in the hearth. Hod sat on a huge, scarlet armchair, patterned with subtle, yellow flowers, in his magenta smoking jacket, - with the black, velvet trim - the paragon of fine sensibility and sophistication. "I wouldn't have taken … Continue reading Thrown-Away Ship
Alli was driving down a country road. The windshield wipers squeaked as they flowed back and forth, haltingly across the glass. The road was wet; the sky was silver. Dark green trees, heavy with the foliage of summer, framed her view. She got out and walked into a field with tall, flaxen grass. Drizzle splattered down, … Continue reading A Quick Respite with Honesty
Nealy stood in the wood-paneled study, in her beige suit and red ascot. She poured a glass of wine from the glass decanter. Lightning illuminated the room, splitting the sky in two. The faint lamplight flickered across her face. Alli sat in front of her, in a simple cashmere sweater and jeans. The rain raged … Continue reading Modernist Dream
Ran rolled the small amount of water around in her flask. What if she were to chug the whole thing down, right now, and feel refreshed, only to feel greater thirst later? Instead, she took the smallest of sips. Ran was lost. It was only supposed to be a two-hour hike to Riverside, but it … Continue reading Rain Shadow
Ran awoke and stared up at the gray ceiling, colored only by the night. She sat up slowly, in the white sheets, and looked at Alli. She got up and put her bare feet on the thin carpet. Her face looked back at her in the large mirror of their bedroom, a birthday present Kaan … Continue reading Incorporeal Double
The first stars poked out, like holes bored into the fabric of the sky. Jan and Alli sat, as they usually did, on the porch, facing Jan's backyard. They were drinking mint juleps. Jan pulled a blanket around herself, shivering in the evening cold. "Sometimes, I miss Nealy," Alli began. "Why?" Jan asked, turning around, … Continue reading Surreal and Beautiful
