Ghost Parachute

Study the girl in the purple dress. See how she plays, alone and content. Sunlight pours through the windows. The room is all pastel and bright as the girl marches her dolls around their tiny house. The dolls’ names are Betsy and Diane. The girl doesn’t know why these are their names, they just are. […]

Amanda regretted choosing the lab coat.  Far from giving her authority, it blended with the white walls and made her invisible.   The voice boomed from a hidden speaker.  “Commence.” Amanda forced a smile.  “My fellow humans blather about global warming.  Cap and trade, clean energy …” “To the point, please.” Right. Amanda dug into her […]

Mitch and me warn the administrator that mom would need to live alone in a glass room, with glass fixtures, and glass furniture. Mitch peels back the rubber skin on his forearm to show the administrator why. The administrator shakes his head, says Medicare won’t cover that kind of renovation but would still be happy […]

The woman with no hands knocks on his door. Jeffrey doesn’t know if the knock is from her head or forearm or foot, but he’s been waiting on that crazed rap all morning. He rolls up and twists the knob, lets Allison into his temporary room. She slides past him, plops down on a black […]

I have two men. One is young; the other, old. The young one is a poet with a neat beard of black curls and smooth, soft eyes like river rocks. His song is old and creaky. He claims I’m wrong, but I know he loves me best when I’m looking in the other direction, at […]

I wanted to save him. *** I am in a soft room with white walls and a colossal lock on the door that you need a code for. I don’t know how long I’ve been here, only that the silence is enough to make me dizzy. Silence makes you see things you don’t want to […]

She closed the book, placed it on the table, and finally, decided to walk through the door. The men sat around the conference table.  The knots of neckties clung to their double chins.  Allison shut the door gently, so that the door made a little click. “What is the assessment?” the man at the end […]

My wife Michelle and I had a sinking feeling when Joey was born. Nine months to the day after our first child, Jennifer. We didn’t have sex for weeks after Jennifer’s birth; the gynecologist said it wasn’t safe. And Joey wasn’t premature. Fully formed and raring to go. The doctors baffled. A biological oddity. It […]

Hailing a taxi can be tricky, sure, but hailing a taxi on Valentine’s Day in thefinancial district is borderline dangerous.  Everyone’s got plans.  Everyone’s gotplaces to be.  And everyone’s got reservations.  Whether they are romantic,bromantic, sisterly, or otherwise pathetic, the fact still remains: there simply aren’tenough taxis for everyone to get to where they want […]