Once upon a time there lived a tiny crab. Peeking from his modest hole, he found himself inside a majestic sandcastle, complete with moat and turrets. “Behold!” he proclaimed. “The sand gods finally giveth me the riches I deserve and crowned me King Clawdius!” He ruled over the seashells with an iron claw—for thirteen glorious minutes. Then, as the sun hid its face below the horizon, the enemy launched its attack. The tid...

Every night at 3:33 a.m., she heard the familiar voice and laughter. “Come play.” She thought it was a recurring dream about her childhood memories filled with fireflies and sidewalk chalk. She sat up in bed and saw the loose floorboard jiggling to break free again. “Are you finally ready?” She pried open the board. She reached down into the darkness. A warm hand grasped hers. The world flipped. She was six again, barefoo...

After the fields, he doesn’t get soap; the music’s what cleanses him, revealing his roots. When the moon says, “My turn,” to the sun, his fingers, numb from pickin’ cotton, find their feelings. His toes start tappin’. And others come a-running to hear him play the banjo. He sings spiritual songs from his homeland—reminders of hope. Black feet remember their steps from long ago on African soil. Dancing shakes loose the dir...

We had a good thing going—the Indigenous people and me. They left no footprints. Then the loud ones came, sticking stakes in me, upturning, trampling, and spoiling me. The worst was when weighty boots dug in their heels, and the rhythmic dance of bare feet turned to thundering thumps of war. As the blood of my people seeped into my soil, I knew I would be forever stained. Sadly, the songs of the Indigenous grew faint, dis...

The Ice Storm Warning is ominous. Ice accretions of 0.25 inch to 0.5 inch are expected. Hazardous road conditions will exist during the morning commute. Ice accumulations will bring down trees and limbs. Power outages are likely due to downed utility lines. However, amid the chaos brought on by the storm, a natural beauty can be found. Freezing raindrops hang from the branches and trees. Glittering against a background of...

A tap on her shoulder jolts her from her thoughts, the smile of Rex coming into view as she turns around. She locks her laptop, taking a break from writing like she said she would when she agreed to them stopping her every couple hours for water and food. But it had only been a few一 “A few minutes? Yeah, no. Your brain doesn’t know what the difference between a few minutes or a few hours is when you’re writing. It’s almo...

Raised upon my toes, I cupped his face marked with the creases of a man who’d been through war. My thumbs followed the deep grooves from the sides of his nose to the edges of his mouth. He shouldn’t be handsome, but through his honesty and fierceness over right and wrong, he’d become handsome—to me. “I’ve been told Our American Cousin is a repository of dated puns,” he grumbled as I fiddled with his cravat. But I enjoyed...

I used to be lonely, wishing for someone to talk to me. Be careful of wishes. It was then that one of them appeared. Let me warn you: they are like cockroaches. Once you see one, there are a thousand more lurking…waiting its turn. Now, they won’t leave me alone. They invade my work. Some crawl into bed with me. A few badger me in my intimate space—the bathroom. They persist like weeds in a sidewalk crack. What are they? O...

I firmly believe names are very important and hold special meanings, including usernames. Names represent who a person is as an individual person. Epicellie was my former username. Most people do not recognize me now with my new username, Cora. In Latin, Cora is translated to, “Sacred Heart.” Cora is a beautiful word and fits me perfectly. I have a great devotion to the Sacred Heart. It is funny to receive “Welcome” messa...

I sat with my dad on the verge of the road, near the car. The night was cold and clear and the stars were falling like rain. "I wonder if there are other worlds," said dad, "Or if this is the only one?" The next day we visited the observatory. We stood in line and, one by one, were allowed to look through the giant telescope. "The planet you can see now is four million light years away," said the guide, "We believe it is...

Taking her seat at the table, she kissed the deck for luck before handing them back to me. Nervously, I dealt the cards as she calmly gathered her cards into an orderly stack in front of her. Poker-faced, she slipped her first card face-up onto the table. Holding my breath, I placed my card next to hers. From the corner of my eye, I noticed her cheat by lifting the corner of her next card before slamming it onto the table...

This morning, I received a letter from those lovely people down at the income tax office. They wrote to inform me, that my income tax return form was outstanding! Funny, I don’t even remember filling out a tax return form, let alone filling it out neatly!

Wikipedia says that A1 is a sauce. So we are under attack by a sauce? Which is short for Sausalito, a city in California. What does a steak sauce have to do with Artificial Intelligence? Can it spell Mississippi? I tried talking to a bottle of A1 and got nothing out of the one-way conversation. In fact, I had to look around and make sure that I wasn't being watched while dining at The Outback. I am more concerned as to wh...

Although we’ve been together for a number of years, my other half is irritatingly obsessed with trying to find out about my past relationships and how many partners I’ve had. Always fishing and asking questions about my past, drives me insane! When questioned again last weekend, I announced, ‘I could count my previous partners on one hand, I’ll tell you from the beginning if you really want to know. I’ll count them out fo...

The heat was staggering as she climbed the steps to the third level of the ferry that would take her to the island. Relief came as a cool breeze off the water once the vessel started moving. Freedom was across this lake; the closer she got, the sweeter it tasted. Allowing herself a full week of joy had its price. But he would touch and taste her until she was completely sated while taking what he needed. She made this tre...