New destination, this time: mountains. Last time, I parked at the foot of a waterfall. Crazy, right? There are some in the States where you can park right up, if no one else is there already, and I got lucky. Got lucky with this mountain, too. Looking out at it now, at sunset. Makes me appreciate being here with my van, like it’s some friend of mine. It is, in many ways. I make food with the van, ...

“They looked weird, huh?” Andy asked his daughter, looking at the statue of the ancient being. “Human” read the plaque before it, with two hands and two feet and a rounded head. It looked almost grotesque.

“Well, maybe the artist interpreted something into … that, right?” His daughter replied, shaking her head.

“Or maybe they really existed. Maybe someday people will look back at us and think -...

“It’s a sin to be sad!” My mother used to shout as I lay in bed. She’d pull open all of the blinds, letting the sun seep through, and take the blankets from my eyes. “Appreciate the light in this life!” I’d tell her that my body couldn’t move, that I felt so deeply sad that I couldn’t even bear to open my eyes, and she’d just repeat that it’s a sin to be sad. She’d dance around my body in bed, pla...

Good morning! The mirror shows me myself, one day older. Fine lines and wrinkles will form into deep cracks and ditches one day, but for now they’re fame. I smile and rub the wash over my skin. Then the lotion. Then the other lotion. Then the other. Then, I’m ready to go about my day.

As I turn from the mirror, though, I think I see someone else. That’s not me - is it? The same person who I knew ...

Evan emerges from the front door. He immediately raises his hands to his face, shielding himself from the sun. He hasn’t felt it all summer long. It’s hot - and he forgot how hot it could get in his town. He thinks of baked cookies, dinners from his mother, steamy showers that he had to lower the temperature of before he hopped in. That’s how he feels now: he doesn’t want to be the cookies, the di...

Everybody wanted to live in the four-story pagoda. Picture this: a wide expanse of water, glistening with stars; a crescent moon hanging in the skies amidst clouds; a home, within it all. That was the pagoda. Mist seemed to always surround it. One time, when we were kids, we took a small boat nearby but couldn’t get close enough to see in through the windows. They were always lit, though, and the ...

“Let’s skip the pleasantries, shall we? You and I both know we’re not here for small talk.”

“Geez, I just wanted to know how you’ve been. Whatever. You’ve always been cold like this. That’s why I hired you. Is it done?”

“It’s done. Of course. I don’t miss. Do you have the payment?”

“I haven’t heard anything about a shooting. No news, no phone calls. How do I know it’s done?”

“Here’s a phot...

We look to the stars, wondering if they, too, will fall. Will their path blaze and leave fire and flame behind, until they reach the ground? And then will the sidewalks, streets, and dirt crumble, too, or will they land more peacefully? We can’t fathom a time of peace, or something as sinister as a star coming down to infiltrate us. There’s no niceties any longer. Remember in schools, when we woul...

They used to give me that same love. See it, there? The look in their eyes? Even their words are similar: “Oh, she’s so cute. Ah, look at what she did!” She can do no wrong, and I used to not be able to either. Now, I sit in my bed in the corner of the room, watching. They don’t even care when I make a silly noise or drop my toy at their feet anymore. They haven’t taken pictures of me in days. I h...

I was eager to feel intertwined with the water. I desired for it to absorb me, enter each pore, exit again, and enter again, so I was one with the flow and the flow was one with me. Yet, when I stood still and let the ocean absorb me, I felt nothing. Something I had desired for so long felt like nothing. It made me numb and I found it astonishing. How often did I do this, want something so deeply ...