free fiction








      Ronnie took a deep breath.  She reminded herself that she shouldn’t be nervous.  That Jim was her best friend.  And that if she waited, stupid Kristen might ask him first and ruin everything.  "So, prom."       Jim nodded.  "The very first on Mars."       "Want to go with […]

A Prom Princess of Mars




For Savannah       Angry, frozen snowflakes hissed against Derrick’s window.  Cold seeped through cracks in his Dad’s stupid, sagging house and gathered around his ankles.       He pulled his afghan off the bed and pulled it to his chin.  The scratchy yarn smelled like gingerbread and sage incense.  Like […]

Finding Christmas


      The adults all succumb to the sleep at the same time.  Our parents slump, boneless, to the floor.  Teachers sag onto their desks, cashiers fall next to their registers, bike couriers tumble sideways and roll.  The smallest children sleep as well.  Babies curl on their mothers’ breasts, soft […]

We Wait, and We Hope



      Stanley initiated a standard scan and watched the numbers scroll across his screen.  "That’s not right," he muttered.  He stopped the test and restarted it.  He stared at the image on the screen.  His mind drifted.  He reached forward, and jumped when his fingers hit smooth plastic.       […]

Feeding the Master