I scoffed as I re-read the warnings and directions smeared along the side of the box. As if cramming word counts onto a small box were a competitive sport. Do not take before naps. If you experience lucid dreams, contact a doctor after waking up. Blah blah blah. It was all the same contrived legalese that could get any corporation out of a million dollar lawsuit. But it never stopped the test gr...

I pressed my paddle against the gentle current as deep as I could, the water fighting back with each stroke. I quickly looked over my shoulder, hoping to catch glimpse of an empty river behind me. I was not so lucky.

Godfrey was in pursuit. Even worse, he had a double paddle. I turned back to face forward and began to row with a heightened pace. I had no problem outrunning Godfrey on foot this fa...

“Hey, how’s it’s going” Lee mumbled as he brought his luggage into the passenger cars room. His voice wasn’t ready to speak, causing his mumble to trail off at the end as he cleared his throat.

“Morning there.” Gerry replied, equally as soft and awkward. It was two hours after lunch. Gerry wiped his brow, hoping the awkward greeting he gave was ignored and not scrutinized for him not saying the c...

The office printer whirred to life, displaying its morning greeting message to Glen. ‘Replace toner. Unable to print’ Glen slid the toner tray open and shut quickly, not fulfilling the printer’s request. The printer chunked and clunked as it thought about what retort to say next. ‘Paper jam. Error 505. Please unjam printer’

Glen waved his hands in frustration as he walked back to his office in fr...

I preheated the oven before returning to the cutting board, shifting around the kitchen as if I were ice skating in the Olympics. My mother’s gnocchi bolognese was no joke, and timing was as much of the recipe as the ingredients. Even with immense detail and coordination, my mind couldn’t help but drift back to the DM I received earlier that night.

Most mistresses that expose their unfaithful par...

The door opened with its familiar creak. One that hasn’t sounded in his mind in a long time. The last time Thomas graced the walls of his apartment he left Malia under false pretenses of work strip across the world.

His wanderlust and desire to chase treasures of the ancient world seduced him into an escapade of deceit.

Closing the door carefully, Thomas felt a note taped above the inside door...

Laying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling, I began losing control of my mind. Emotions and thoughts stirred around in a soup of restlessness and resentment. Not only did Hannah lie to me but she used her lie to pit my friends against me. My thoughts briefly drifted from the hurricane of hateful thoughts to a quote my parents told me.

_‘Remember. We all have bad days and feel some deep lows. Bu...

I pushed the door to the cafe open. I was met with resistance and an uninvited embrace with a closed door. Confused, I looked at the glass door that read ‘pull’. With embarrassed compliance I now entered the cafe.

The air felt warm from the espresso machines and faux fireplace heater. Holly leaves still hung throughout the fixtures of the shop. A surprising sight being a week into the new year. ...

“It’ll only be a long weekend.” John groaned, expressing clear annoyance with my pestering.

“A long weekend in a place you’ve never been with a group of strangers. Can you see the alarm bells going off here?” I tried to stay calm but my tone only increased as I went on. It was futile. John knew that as much as I did. He always went where he wanted. I shouldn’t have spoiled him so much raising him...

Each day seemed to go on like the next. The morning began and I did not have any energy to move or function. This was the case until that glow of the sun hits my front solar panel. From here I would be able to wave my paw, beckoning or greeting any pedestrians passing the parkway where our humble shop sat.

This day felt just like any other. The sun powering my energy to wave. However, I saw some...