Amber
Stories
The Last Summer Before Life
Responsible Glenn is on the edge of adulthood, but can his mother handle letting him go?…The red bathing suit stood out from all the others, its modest cut being a departure from the scant bikinis dominating the poolside. I noticed the girl wearing it from under an umbrella. She moved with ease in and out of the water, shoulders glisteni…
Loved Ones
Ashley awoke in the middle of the night to find fifteen missed calls on her phone. Her first instinct was to wake Bill, but as she reached for him, she had an alarming thought.Wasn’t he on call last night?Ashley allowed her hand to hover briefly, ind…
Earl
Originally written as an exercise for people watching week at a writer's group.…Earl Powell pushed a shopping cart filled with two huge bags of dog food up to the counter. He also had three pouches of bacon-flavored treats, several packages of flea treatments, and boxes and boxes of little blue bags. There was very little in th…
Hours Before Dawn
I often wake in the wee hours, and sometimes in my sleepy fog I think it's already morning.…Implacable thoughts Like a slow dripping leak Like the drone of an alarm just out of reach Too persistent to let me sleep Too soon, I think morning has come, and rise The steady trill of rumination follows me through a mirrorless house to a set of d…
Amanda
A special memory of one morning with my dad, and my favorite doll.…I'm lying on the floor of our rec-room, watching cartoons. I'm about eight years old and this is pretty much all I do on a Saturday morning. I hear the front door slam, a familiar sound, and glance up only when I realize that my father is coming dow…
What's Good for the Grifter
When small-time crook Marcus Diamond runs into an old classmate, he may just be in over his head.…My name is Marcus Diamond. Some people ask if that's my real name, and I just tell them sure it is, if I want it to be. See, there are two kinds of people in the world - those with, and those without. I was born without. But you just watch. I'm goin…
True Illumination
True Illumination There was once a lush and beautiful forest teeming with life, and any who passed through it felt refreshed and cheerful. Its borders stretched all the way from the village of Terrapacia, on the west, to the great waters of Undala…