On the eve of the new year, he stood on his balcony, leaning over just enough to feel it arrive. The promise and forgiveness of the night embraced him. He pictured the aches and worries of the last 12 months scatter in the winter wind and fly away. Only their lessons remained. He listened to the…
Short Stories
For looking deeper in painful times and smiling at yourself with compassion.
And I smiled. It was the most amazing thing. – from There, I Might Find Peace I once was caught in the blackest night. A starless sky hung over me. Not even the moon could light the way. The cavernous great beyond swooped in to swallow me. Shadows danced upon shadows. They tapped my wrist,…
Open, open, open…you will be soft wonderment. 🌱
They knew her as Dream Girl, Child of Awe. She lived in the fields just outside town. Gardens surrounded her home, and beyond that a wall with a great door. You could find her balancing atop the wall, listening. Her bare feet felt for familiar stones, ruddy cheeks turned toward the sky. “Feel how soft…
I Thought I Had Demons
I used to think there was something bad and broken in me. Some damaged bits hidden deep down, out of my reach. They spoke to me, whispering riddles and sending me on impossible quests. They mocked my failure when I came back empty-handed. Demons, I called them. Dragons, ghosts, skeletons, monsters. I thought I…
Words for Waking Up
Awake, fresh eyes crack. It hurts for just a second as dawn’s light washes me. After a long, walking sleep, I’m relieved to see the sun again. “Felt like night forever,” I say to her with a bittersweet mix of thanks and regret. “Thank you for waking me.” The monsters lurking in my room transform before me….
The Love That Sustains You
Standing on the corner of a busy city street, a quarter caught his eye. He bent to pick it up as people rushed past. “Drums!” he exclaimed as he turned the quarter over and found a drummer boy standing in the eagle’s place. He pressed the quarter into his palm and smiled at a passerby. All…
Where there was fear now stands love.
I sat at the shore, watching the water come and go. Beside me sat a basket filled with bottles, each one containing a note about my past and my secrets. Something’s wrong with me, one said. It broke me, said another. I can’t forgive myself for it. No one can ever know. For years, I kept the…
The perfect intricacy of it all.
She lies along the riverbank, watching the clouds paint on the blue canvas sky. She lifts a lazy finger overhead and traces the shapes as they emerge. Her right foot dangles in the water. She gives it a slow, easy kick, kick, kick. The sun drenches her skin in warm light, honey-gold and petal-soft….