“It’s funny when grown adults act like spoiled children,” you once said. “It becomes not funny when they have guns.” I laughed and said, “True.” We were talking about the invasion of some faraway land. The situation had nothing to do with us. Now, I hear ignorant people calling you antifa, saying you had it […]
I still believe in miracles, you said, your final words to me on my death bed. Now that I’ve joined the great cloud of witnesses, now that I’m watching you from heaven, I wish you will. You can’t have rainbows without rain, but storms pass. This too shall pass, my love. At the end of […]
Title: True Love I’ve finally figured out what true love is. It’s opening up the refrigerator door at work and finding a wrapped sandwich with your name on it. At first, you’re mad. Whoever stole your sandwich yesterday decided to rewrap it and put it back? Then, you open it and find a fresh sandwich, […]
“What is it really like in there?” people still ask, years later. Quarantine forced hundreds of us to stay for decades in The Hidden Library. Years passed, while the deadly book-wyrm raged outside. Magic archways lead to the Library of Alexandria, to safely replicated surfaces of distant stars, to all of the places and times someone […]
My parents split up when I was five. I went to live with my mom, who lovingly cared for me – well, the nanny she hired cared for me. It would be years before I would ask myself why I looked forward to summer vacation so much. (Dad only got me for vacation.) He would […]
We’ll never be friends, but we’re too exhausted to be enemies, in your flower-strewn backyard on a sunny day. In the slick red shoebox, a hamster’s body lies still. You only got to spend two days with Petey. I resist the urge to laugh at your grief. Instead, I stare down at the dirt mound, […]
There’s nothing like raw desperation to make you do the impossible, the inconceivable, the necessary. Paula stares at the ticket in her hand. He would have killed me if I stayed. Keep repeating that mantra, Paula. Be brave. You’re so brave. Climb the steps of the Greyhound Bus. Smile at the genuinely nice man who […]
are you okay? asks the angel sent to seek and find the lost. i flip a page, seated on cottony velvet in a quiet nook:the quiet library at the end of the world.i look up. Excuse me, miss. The wedding feast is ready. And your point is? uncertain, shy, the angel smiles, then leaves mealonewith […]
I miss you, especially at the craziest moments. Like I’ll be driving along and picture you there: side-seat driving while telling ridiculous stories. “That’s where the woman was brutally attacked by a pack of rabid koalas*.” (What??? Where??? What???) And then, “Hey! You missed your turn.” I’ll laugh, rub the tears from my eyes, signal […]
It’s just the two of us, a shared blanket, two mugs of hot cocoa, and Lord of the Rings Extended Edition, the whole trilogy. Halfway through Fellowship, cat number one decides we really are planning to stay for the whole marathon and jumps up on your lap. Then, cat number two snuggles up next to […]
Anne Higa 