... if this was the year he’d returned to kill her, also. His error. But every year, the odor faded and she continued breathing. After an...

The manhole cover was misaligned. The stripe marking the side of the road across the metal plate didn’t connect to the painted line on...

She sped along the curving road, darkness surrounding her, redwood trees towering overhead, blocking the moon. Beside her, the phone...

She walked through the park, barely noticing where she was going. The national news blared from her phone, destroying the tranquility of...

Everyone hated wearing the masks, but it was necessary, for now. And truthfully, she didn’t resent the discomfort as much as others did....

A small pour from each bottle. Flowery words that sounded the same after a while, disconnected from the taste on her tongue. When they...

She stepped outside, squinting, then waving to her neighbor who stood bathed in the sunlight falling across the pavement. The ping of a...

The hallway was dark, all but one of the motion-activated lights unlit for the past hour. A crash interrupted the stillness. The building...

The first time he told that story, she’d laughed. The next one-hundred-thirty-three times, her laughter deflated, then dissipated,...

It happened so fast. Birth. Hope. The anticipation of beauty. Decay. Despair. Death. Lasting no longer than a passing thought.

The sound was faint, audible only when her eyes were closed. She lay in bed, hearing jaws masticating as if the creatures were inside her...

Clouds had settled across the entire sky. They sat there like a thick blanket, smothering everything. He closed his eyes against the cold...

The plastic card scraped across the formica counter as Wendy swept the crumbs from her bagel into her hand and sprinkled them into the...

She walked briskly, inhaling the pre-dawn air. Ahead on the path stood a crow. His eyes bored into her. She slowed, advancing cautiously,...

She twisted the ring, angling it so the sun reflected off the diamond. With a mind of its own, the ring slid off her finger. It pinged...

Baptism in the ocean was their tradition. The practice both intrigued and terrified her. But the terror won out. Every time. She would...

Every night in the dark, the questions appeared. Why? When?! What if..? How long?? Should I?!? In the morning, the white board was wiped...

The colors of the painting were rich with life. She gazed at it every morning while she sipped her tea. Today, something drew her closer....

It was vibrant green. A color impossible to imitate with paint. She picked it up, already tasting the juice, chewing the flesh. She...

The restaurant didn’t have a bathroom of its own. Instead, the server had directed her outside and around the corner to an alley where a...