8 Stories

The Welcoming Community

I'm finally moved into my new home in a new town. When I went to stroll my yard to figure out gardening ideas, my neighbor across the street smiled and waved at me. He then opened his mailbox and waved his hand inwards, into the mailbox, as if beckoning me inside. Later in the grocery store parking lot, a lady smiled at me while opening her car door, waving me inside. I kept walking. While in the frozen foods section, the manager opened the door to the frozen pizza. Waved me inside, so happy to see me.

Aftermath of the Cure

"Have you made your decision?"

The children looked at their father. He looked at the brochure in his hand and then up at the doctor. "Doctor, I just..." he began to weep, worried. "I can't believe this is a legal option."

"It's okay, dad," the children say. "It's what's best."

"Yes, Mr. Solt, that's why these homes are now an option. The information you provided meets all criteria for your ex-wife to be taken care of after she's recovered. And you..." the doctor gazes at the family, "...you can all go on with your new lives."

On the Inside & Out

"Umm...are you okay?" her husband asks.

"Yeah, I'm great! Why?" She looks up from the newspaper.

"I just never see you wearing..."

"Oh! Well, I'm just clipping coupons, having coffee. I, uh...just never use this one, ya know?"

"Oh. Okay."

She gets up and lumbers over to her husband, moves in for a hug. "What do you all a rooster staring at lettuce?" she asks mid-embrace, smiling.

"I don't know," he says, unenthused, barely touching her.

"Chicken sees a salad," she says, deflated.

She slowly slides out of the hug and goes to her closet, changes into her yoga body.

Monster

The night had come. For the past four months, his opus had permeated the elementary school halls with its struggling sounds during the after-school hours. It was memorized by heart and one-by-one, each student played their instrument as if the instrument were an extension of themselves. The curtain was drawn and the crowd was ambling in. Parents congratulated him on his upcoming retirement and introduced themselves and their other children. After his modest speech, the curtain rose, revealing no children, but a sign with green letters. All was silent except for a fire truck's siren blaring in the distance.

Bludgeon Day

It was at the traffic light on Logan that it was announced on the radio that it was her turn. The opposing traffic slowed to a creep, the drivers glaring at her as they passed, eyeing her car to make sure it's her. She's read the survival manual. In her back seat was the disguise bag with a change of clothes, scissors to cut her hair, and a lot of money for bribes. But others have read the manual, too. It was thrown aside as she was forced facedown on the road in the shattered glass of her side window.

My Last Opinions

They did it. The fuckin' Egonihilists finally did it. A little over a minute is all I have until everything I am--we are--is destroyed. I mean, "we" is nothing but a group of "I", so "we" will be destroyed, too. So, here goes. I love my family and friends. Pizza is the best food ever. The New England Patriots own, hands down. Whole milk, all the way. God does not exist. Mrs. Jannison was right. About everything. The moon is beautiful tonight. Happy Birthday to everyone for the rest of our lives. Children are everything. I hate Dona--

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

Before I go sleep, jus wanit to tell ya mama ain't home agin an she tol me ta jus come home, eat da mac n cheese in da microwave an watch cartoons. An...an nats what I did an da cartoons dey wen away an some lady was talkin an people were yellin an screamin, dey were cryin an someone was on da ground an I jus wanit to watch ma cartoons an I called mama on da phone an she said it ain't real it ain't real an I jus wanit to thank you that it ain't real. Thank you.

The To-Do List

• Dinner shopping list (same store/day of) ricotta cheese, noodles, mozz cheese, marinara sauce, ground beef, ground sausage, onion, garlic, parsley, box wine (sangria), Yanni CD, duncan hines cake mix, loaf of Italian bread, garlic powder, garlic salt, butter,

• Buy (different stores/days, cash) Trash bags, bleach, bungee cords (non-fabric), bucket, paper towels, Comet, scrub brush, towels, latex gloves, hammer, cigarette lighter, bandana, saw, tarp, duct tape, laundry basket, Yanni CD, paring knife staple gun, cigarettes, lozenges, disinfectant spray (non-scented), cake batter yankee candle, black light bulb, small first aid kit

• Dump: place 5 minutes off parkway, Philly, Baltimore business trip

• Jasmine 8:00

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