With unpracticed beak, I make my nest twig by pathetic twig.

I once sewed curtains to warm my home.

I once painted cheerful colors around my home.

I once walked barefoot on cozy rugs.

Now I sit on a pile of sticks. Cold. Alone.

Unloved....

Jenny left her wedding ring on the kitchen table next to the now cold steak dinner and untouched glass of wine.

She couldn’t even guess where Chris was tonight. Working late? Drinking with the guys? In the arms of a lover? She didn’t care anymore.

There was a time not long ago she would’ve died before picturing a life without him. Being alone scared her, but in some ways it’s nice to be the one...

Creation. Destruction. Rinse and repeat.

Today I learned an astronaut can drown,

When exploring celestial heartbeats.

Catastrophe galaxies all around.

They say only the fullest hearts can break.

Chasing heavenly bodies across time.

Astronomical origins we fake.

Catastrophe galaxies post-sublime.

Nebulas birth stars, love and grief are kin.

Forever here in the vacuum of space.

My dear, never shal...

Every house on Maple Street was built in the late 1960s. Two perfect rows of three bedroom, one bath, mid century ranches with attached garage. Each of the seven houses were painted a cheery pastel color with names like Mellow Yellow and Bubblegum Pink. The yards were tidy, lawns cut short, simple flower beds with easy to manage shrubbery. There was no HOA, just a general understanding of the aest...

“Jules.” Annie’s voice echos around the small bedroom. She places her hand in mine gently and I look her in the eye. “He’s toxic. You need to let him go.”

I look back at my boyfriend Reggie. He’s struggling against the ropes tying him to the bed, foaming at the mouth. His brown eyes, which used to remind me of a warm cup of coffee, are now a glossy white like cataracts. He can’t see anything, but...

Rhys pulled at the rope chafing his wrist, trying to twist free.

“Please, Macy. Let me go,” he begged.

“I gave you plenty of chances to change,” she answered from the dark corner of the basement room.

Rhys tried desperately to recall every interaction he had with her. He couldn’t think of anything he did to make her this dangerous. Just normal stuff at school. He teased everyone, she was no ex...

Nothing unsettled Freida’s sensibilities quite like the sight of a firesprite corpse. Alive they were chubby cheerful bulbs of fire, but deceased their little remains resemble a pile of burnt matches.

“Tragic.” Conway sighed and shook his head.

Freida and Conway have been partners for nearly a decade in the Autumn Court’s homicide department.

“Any ID on it?” Freida asked.

“No, but I did find ...

“As I heard the last wolf cry, I knew it was over…”

A hush settles over the audience as Gareth’s last line rings out.

Max shuffles out on stage, dressed as a wolf. He’s sweaty under the costume and spotlight. He turns to the painted moon on the backdrop and howls. His howl is interrupted by a groan and he clutches his stomach. Then he crumples to floor.

A little over acted, but a good end, th...

“So how was the wedding this weekend? I heard something crazy went down,” asks Douglas.

“Oh well imagine, as I’m pacing the pews in a church corridor, and I can’t help but to hear,” I shake my head, still in disbelief, “No, I can’t help but to hear an exchanging of words…”

My story is unfortunately interrupted by the outlaw we’ve been hunting finally making an appearance.

Douglas and I make q...

Johnny’s last quarter rattled down the coin chute making a satisfying clink when it hit the safe. The catchy theme song of the game started to play, as familiar as a lullaby.

Johnny blocked out the rest of the world. All around him games flashed and beeped as kids got high scores and cheered. Old Man Morris, the grumpy arcade manager, yelled at some teens to stop hitting a machine when it ate th...