Sometimes, when I walk down the stairs, I forget how. Staring at the descending steps I got lost in their rise and run, my eyes sloping down their carpet patterns. I’ve twisted my ankle on stairs before?—I’ve done worse, too, but twisting an ankle really hurts. So stairs always give me panic, the tension of […]
Inspired by Welcome to Night Vale. I live in a town of idiots. I’ve been studying them diligently throughout my work, even when I was an apprentice. I’ve seen these people, their families, their insides, how their minds work, and I’ve decided there’s no better explanation for this entire community. Inside 198 Grand Ave, the […]
The Museum of Underappreciated, Retroactive, Depictive, and Enduring Renderings is honored to be the first home for installation of this entire exhibition. The artist, described as a “pathological painter” by his critics, captures life in his art unlike any other contemporary. On behalf of the Museum I welcome everyone to the panel discussion about the […]
“Yeah, okay, Wikihow. Teach me ‘How to Make Up Your Own Star Constellation’.” I lean forward in anticipation, waiting to be the next great astronomer of our time, right from the comfort of my Android. In the overcrowded cafeteria, the page loads and loads and loads, and while I plan my speech for when NASA inevitably […]
It was the kind of short-cut no one wanted: an extra four hours driving through the set for some kind of impending-doom scene, like Thelma and Louise but without all the symbolism. A cliffside only inches from my door and the sky only getting darker. And no cell service. Not that it mattered in 2006. […]
“Boom. “Do not indent the first paragraph. Also, be sure to have an onomatopoeia to start, as well as interminable and literary jargon words to make sure that you audience knows you’re smart. And if the same person is talking through more than one paragraph, don’t put an end quote at the end of the […]
The eyes of March were world renowned. As he analyzed the bark on a rainbow tree in the tropics by lamplight, he held one hand over his head to protect his hair from the rain. He examined the damp trees that stood in a congregation. “I can not tell the difference!” March declared, turning around. […]
This is how it ends: a darkness so complete that it’s almost a blinding white. A feeling so overwhelming that it feels like nothing at all. Suburbia: some side street is adorned with one of the state’s top-ranked high schools, but almost none of the student body looks up long enough […]
Standing in the Natural History museum, two people (Person A and Person B) are viewing different displays. Nearby, a large group of students are chattering, filling out papers for school, and pointing at different displays. A: Did you see that– B: Dinosaur? Yeah, there’re a lot. A: They’re a lot of what? B: A lot […]
What if everything you’ve ever read was something that was secretly about you? Every news article, email, ad, all aiming towards you and intended to be about you. What if the person next to you, supposedly just typing on their keyboard, is writing about you, hoping that you’ll read it? What if I’m writing about […]
By now, I bet he’s dead. At least, I hope he’s dead. The man who seasoned my cups of tea with garlic and who left his paychecks at the piano– yeah, I hope he’s dead. I was getting sick of his knit white turtlenecks stained with what I hoped was ketchup and his little purple […]
Space, do you copy? [typed string0=”Space, do you copy?” string1=”Over.” typeSpeed=”40″ startDelay=”0″ backSpeed=”40″ backDelay=”500″] [typed string0=”Copied.” string1=”Over.” typeSpeed=”40″ startDelay=”4000″ backSpeed=”40″ backDelay=”500″] [typed string0=”And… What do you see?” string1=”Over.” typeSpeed=”40″ startDelay=”8000″ backSpeed=”40″ backDelay=”500″] [typed string0=”Star in sight…” string1=”Over.” typeSpeed=”40″ startDelay=”12000″ backSpeed=”40″ backDelay=”500″] [typed string0=”Any other characteristics of note?” string1=”Over.” typeSpeed=”40″ startDelay=”16000″ backSpeed=”40″ backDelay=”500″] [typed string0=”Bright, shiny. […]
I don’t usually question things. Usually. Because usually, I’m sitting at home. Alone. With my dishwasher screaming in one room and my washing machine thundering in the other. With the sunlight blinding me and my chair binding me, I have no reason to leave my computer screen for “the great outdoors”– what’s so great about […]
“Objection,” Council whispered. “I beg your pardon?” “Objection,” he said louder, his chair sliding out from under him as he stood up. “Objection, your honor.” “Well, what is your objection, Council?” the Judge asked. “My objection? Well isn’t it obvious, your Honor?” the Prosecution asked. “Obviously not,” the Defense said, stepping away from the witness […]
Dearest Johnathan, I hope this letter finds you well. It seems as though all the letters I have sent previously had made no progress; but one must not let the angel fly far without wings. Noella’s success seems to be less because of her own intelligence and more because of her husband’s, but that is […]
It never occurred to me how many tissues are kept in a funeral home. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, always stocked and ready to be re-stocked when ever someones comes by. Funeral homes are so specific. What other place is so specific to one situation that everyone knows exactly what’s going on right when you […]
I don’t know why I thought so, but it was all breathtaking. Every place I thought I already knew in my motherland was seen in a new light, a new bright light, overtaking any other memory that tried to push its way to my attention. “We’re headed to the College,” they said, and I thought nothing […]
White was too pure for me, even then. I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t take the fact that if something- anything– touched the wall, then it was ruined. The whole thing. Because you can’t paint over a white wall. The spot you paint over, if you do, will look newer. Whiter. Some kind of different shade […]
She was laying on her back, her hair splayed all over the main deck. “Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Clive asked, looking nervously over the railing. “But of course we are,” the Theorist sighed, rolling on her back to pull herself upright. She hugged her knees and looked over at him. “Don’t […]
I tapped my coffee mug impatiently, my gaze lost on the greenest grass outside. “Where do you think words go when you burn them?” Arabella paused. “…What?” “You know,” I said, taking my fidgeting hands off the hot ceramic. I put them into a tight ball. “When you.. burn them?” I let my hands pull […]
