WHEN JANE WAS BORN, the first thing the nurse said was, “There’s a monster on her cheek.” Wendy struggled to sit up. “Let me see her. Let me hold my daughter.” “I’m so sorry,” the doctor said, her mouth turned down, not quite meeting her eyes. “Did you get vaccinated?” the nurse said. “Of course,” […]
HALLOWEEN IS A FAVORITE HOLIDAY AT OUR HOUSE. We do it all. Gravestones on the grass, imitation spider web on the rose bushes, creepy glowstick eyes peering out from the shadows, a minimum of 12 pumpkins usually carved to follow a theme (last year it was classic horror literature, as you can see). We […]
Rule #1: Don’t ask them how they died Mandy died young but it wasn’t truly tragic. It was in the sense that she was ten years old and would never learn to drive, sure. However, when you looked at how she was being raised (parents in and out of jail, drugs, etc.) she was almost […]
Our House is pregnant. The Orderlies posted the news on our Noticeboard. No explanation, no fanfare. We gather in the common room, silent, scarcely able to look at each other. Then the room erupts. “They’re joking.” One woman, white-faced. A man sits and stares at his hands. Like he had something to do with it. “What […]
WE CONTINUE OUR JOURNEY INTO THE GUTTERS, all the stuff that happens between the amazing success stories people collect to make a highlight reel of their career so that it seems like their life is a series of powerfully compelling moments, but is, in fact, a false flag operation for how reality actually unfolds as […]
The devil called on Tuesday. I’m hungry, it said. Feed me. You hung up–but a thing like that doesn’t stop a devil. It called back. And kept calling. Night after night after night until you couldn’t remember what day it was or whether you were dreaming or just sleepwalking through life. The only thing that seemed real was the gnawing in […]