Getting Ready for Church
Field stood in front of the mirror. Tilting his head slightly, and ... squinting a bit, and then taking a step back. His reflection did the same. He took a step forward, tilting his head the other way. And then tugging on his shirt. Plain,...
The Friendly City
"Isn't the air clearer out here?" Field asked, beaming brightly (as if mimicking the late-afternoon sun). "I mean, just ... bolder, you know? Just ... " "Better?" she supplied from the passenger seat. "Well ... yes," was his answer. "Yes." ...
Change Your Spoons
"Change your spoons. Fill your holes. Take your temperatures," was the refrain. The refrain! Always the same (and spoken at a walk-by). Whenever the line broke, the manager (one of four managers; the four being: general, service, line, and chef ... at...
Rosemary & Thyme
The mouse stared at the wall. Trying to see God in the shadows. Trying to see ... "Field?" "Yeah?" He blinked and exhaled. Bathed in the pale-blue glow of the television screen. "You still there?" "I don't like telephones. I have a...
Waechtersbach
The snowflake-shaped lights, strung from the curtain rods, glowed in their pale, plastic way. And, outside, the land was in a film of snow. It had only fallen last night ... "Waechtersbach," said Field. And he bounced her a tiny bit (the tiniest...
Personifying the Sun
"I feel like a ... mouse on a wheel," he said, blinking, rubbing his eyes. "Don't." "What?" He blinked. Frowned. Looked to her. "Don't rub your eyes," she whispered. "It'll only irritate them more." Still wearing the frown, Field...
Windswept
The world was weary and windswept. And white. But none of that could be seen. Not in this. Not in the absence of all earthly light. Assumpta padded over ice. Thin, thin ice ... holding her breath at each slight cracking sound. The sky...
An Exponential Noon
"Fiber. The bare minimum you should be getting, daily: fourteen grams. Now, realistically, we all need about twenty-five ... okay?" Ross was in class. Nutrition for health (for rodents ... there was a health class for each major 'group' of furs;...
The High-Blue Chill
She chomped on a red and white peppermint disc with her sharp, pointed teeth. Her white teeth. Fang-like teeth. Breathing out (and breathing in), creating a cloud of breath, of moisture, before it faded away into the high-blue chill. And she loved that...
Kenapocomoco
On the banks of the Eel River, the 'Kenapocomoco,' the 'Snake Fish,' on a farm near some narrow, leaf-floored woods, a farm near wider, more open fields (of would-be corn and soybeans and alfalfa), Rhine and her husband lived. A few miles from her...
Vespers
"Hey," was the whisper. And a look up. And a returned, "Hey." With that slight, sweet smile. The one that dawned in his eyes ... when she entered a room. When she stirred his air. When she came near. They were both outside, currently. On the...
Write it Down
"You chasing the light?" "Mm?" He didn't look up. Sitting at the desk. Loose-leaf notebook papers strewn before him, marked with blue and purple ink. Marked with manic, mousey manifestations. "You're staring at that ... " She haphazardly...