Risk

The Mysterious HouseWhen he said the house was “mysterious,” Papá set my imagination racing. I had imagined a dark, dank two-story English manor house, walls shrouded in thick ivy,… More

V1agra C1alis

1I didn’t get it at first. I thought she was kidding. Viagra, Cialis, your woman will want to keep going all night. I won’t say I didn’t blush. But… More

Wait, Blink

But: That’s not possible, her lecturer said. How do you expect the audience to see anything at all on a backlit screen? It’ll fade out the film and make… More

Jesusland

1 My name is Jesus. And I’m back. I always wanted to say that. “I’m back.” Like the Austrian Oak, what’s his name, the governor of California. Schwarzenegger, Arnold—if you’re into… More

Silent Chatter

John woke one rainy morning and discovered the writing in the floor. When his bare feet touched the cold concrete, he looked down to locate his slippers and… More

Apple Jelly

“Clem! Where you been hidin’? Ain’t seen you in a month o’ Sundays!” “Tell ya what Emmett, you buy me a Pabst an’ I’ll tell ya ’xactly where I been.… More

Chatat

Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age. —Genesis 6:9 Who can say when evil begins? Perhaps it starts with sibilant whispers, reptilian suggestion, something… More

The Blessing of Jebidiah Goodytake

That damned Bernie! One night, without invitation or provocation, he just burst into my room and began tapping my pillow—thump thump thumpity thump—as if he were jabbering off some… More

Monster in the Playground

This story is dedicated to all the children in this world who suffer abuse in whatever form, and to my step-mom, Dorothy. Dorothy’s prayerful hopes for me gave me… More