Expiration Date, Part 2
Neville stood aside as he welcomed me into his home. I knew from other conversations that he had inherited the modest house from his parents (who had passed some years ago), and he had apologized long in advance for how badly he had "let the place...
Preaching to a Bear
At a certain college campus in Texas, where all the tallest tales begin, a trio of chaplains ministered to the students, each to his particular religion. The priest, Pentecostal preacher, and rabbi would often meet at the quieter of the three coffee...
Tending to Important Matters
**_Sunday Morning_** I stirred gently, waking to the sounds of birds and a whisper of soft music barely beginning. Stretching, I reached over to turn off the alarm. Some years ago, I had discovered the CD called_Morning/Jewel,_and I realized that...
FlashFic: After the Funeral
He lies dozing in my arms, finally having cried his fill. I still pet the pup's long, silken headfur tenderly, wishing that I could take away from him some of the pain, but knowing that pain at least as well as himself. It's not an easy thing, losing...
Collar
Rain can be a blessing or a curse, a pleasure or a penance, usually dependent upon three things: How much of it there is, whether or not you have to venture out in it, and what sort of things happen to you while it's going on. On a day when you can...
Character Vignette -- Once, With Another Woman...
What follows is one of my writing warm-up exercises, sparked the line in the title. The lady in question discovered something important about classical music... and other interpretive aspects of life... * * * My mother always said that I was a silly...
Exercise -- Write About a Premonition
As I've mentioned in my profile, I'll occasionally upload things that are snippets, observations, character studies, or just a part of a story that I'm playing with. Writing exercises can sometimes provide a wonderful starting point... or even a very,...
Amphorae
I stretched as well as an old wolf can, feeling my muscles trying to explain to me, yet again, that they all wanted to be laid tenderly, horizontally, upon the comfort of my bed, rather than more vertically in the office chair in front of my screens...
Housewarming
"Feels like Witness Protection." Mal looked up sharply at Bobby's comment. The handsome lion quarterback stood to the side of the front window of the apartment, peeking through the curtain like a spy in the old thrillers of the sixties, doing all he...
Visitor's Vita
When Lightwing and I got to the den, I half expected to see Rainmist in the same chair I'd seen her in last night, gazing out the window. Tonight, there was no rain to attract her attention, so I wasn't all that surprised to see her in one of the...
Rooibos and Reflection
The stairs from the South Tower weren't as grand as the central stairs up to the living quarters, nor as beautiful as the stairs on the north side, with its warm display of windows. This staircase was as wide as the stairwell on the north, but the...
Epilog -- Famous Last Words
That was more than two years ago now. Much has changed since then, and I thought that I should tell you what's happened. Darkstar informs me that this is called "breaking the fourth wall." That's a construct of narrative, he says. Truthfully, my...