Vacation Rental: Arcadian Vineyard Cottage

“Find your serenity at this bucolic cottage in the countryside! Experience the simple pleasures of hand-picked produce, right in your own vineyard sanctuary. Bathe in the peaceful quietude of the traditional way of life— there are no neighbors for miles! Just you, the sun-soaked grapes, and scents of petrichor. Isolated— tranquil and still. You’ll ...

A grifter, a parasite. That’s what I saw him as. Someone who preys upon others to make a quick buck. Of the numerous vagrants I had encountered in this sinful city, his kind had to be the worst.

They disgusted me. I worked hard for my indulgences, my money. And here he was— ragged, greasy, thinking of all the ways he could slip my wallet off of me. I saw the glint in his eyes, like a blade catchi...

My son’s feet pitter-pattered across the kitchen tile, lower lip puckered in a pout.

“But I don’t want to go to bed, the man with no eyes is waiting for me in the closet.”

A shiver rippled through my spine, gaze slowly trailing to him. No, I’m the adult. I mustn’t show fear.

This was the third day this week that he protested at bedtime. I’d be lying if I said strange things hadn’t occurred arou...