This is it. There’s no turning back now. I should know better than to time it so close.

I open the door and step into the darkness. The air’s cold and damp. I shudder and fumble for my jacket. An explosion jolts me to look up at the lit sky. I crouch and find my way to safety.

I bump into someone and whisper an apology. I find what I’m looking for and lean back.

I sigh in satisfaction as I ...

The roses needed trimming.

It felt weird to know that. She learned the term “deadheading” on the internet and still felt like an imposter doing it with pretend deliberation. It was surreal that she owned a house in Arnold County.

It wasn’t an easy ride. She started as a lone foreigner, an “alien “ as they termed her. She looked and sounded different constantly. It took years (fifteen to be e...

“How did you know? How do you _always_ know?”, the kids asked Taylor in disbelief shrouded in envy.

She shrugged. She should have been used to the questions; it happened every time she won. She wished she had an answer but the truth is, she had no idea.

Taylor quickly walked away from her classmates, like she always did. She walked towards the gray building she had called home since she was th...