• #3

    The thermometer reads 38 degrees Fahrenheit. He runs bare chest and shorts. People think he is one of those extreme athletes but really he’s just doing penance for the ice cream he stole this summer from the bodega. His red chapped skin reminds him he should switch to sorbet.

  • # 2

    On a pedestrian footbridge covering a stretch of the highway just before it splits into two separate parkways, a pair of cousins reunite. They embrace, and each wonders to herself what makes a highway different than a parkway. Happy to be together, they turn to survey the thick artery at the place where it cleaves…

  • #1

    She is awakened most mornings by the sound of honking. The bedroom window faces the intersection just before the expressway entrance, and long haulers mixed with local deliveries and school buses jockey for space by screaming a series of brass sounding blasts. And most mornings, she is not ready to get up yet, so she…

  • On the eve of 35

    Tomorrow is my birthday. I used to like turning ages that ended in zero or in five. Easy to count. The last zero I had was David Bowie-themed. I wore a jumpsuit and full Ziggy Stardust makeup. Less than a month later, David Bowie died. That means he’s been gone almost five years now. Wow.…

  • Miss Beautiful

    A pair of pale lips fluttered together in front of the mirror. They belonged to Miss Beautiful, an ageless woman sitting in front of her vanity, wrapped in a creamy silk dressing gown.

  • A Humble Citizen

    Read by Benjamin Ellis Fine “This is why,” Wallace wrote, “after learning what a disgrace this man has been to his family and to God, we cannot let this criminal spend another year as our Mayor. The rules should apply to everyone. EVERYONE”— His hand hovered over the keyboard like a magician casting a spell.…

  • The Earthquake of ‘59

    Read by Benjamin Ellis Fine People don’t think much about earthquakes in North Carolina. Hurricanes, sure. Floods, landslides, lightning strikes, even hailstorms. But when the floors in Liz’s Lewisville living room begin to vibrate, sending her collection of ceramic Santa Claus figurines trembling to the edges of their glass display case, Liz thinks of earthquakes.…