Forever Faithful
The driving rain sliced at Danny’s cheeks and hands as he lashed himself to the mast, prepared to ride out the storm. Another blade of lightning cut through the sky and he though thought of his military days before his present life, the years when he learned to love and respect the power of the…
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Growth
Peg watched by the open door overlooking the deck where her container gardens stood in the moonlight. A cool spring breeze touched the young plant leaves as it passed. She pulled her sweater closer, sipped her tea, worried that the night air might prove too chilly. She thought of the time and care she spent…
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Nightly Routine
Nearly every night after a mostly-quiet dinner, Nora and Vern assumed their usual positions seated in identical armchairs situated on either side of the fireplace that hadn’t hosted flames since the last Christmas any of the children were home during the holidays. His chair angled ever so slightly toward the television set on the other…
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A Different Angle
“It’s all about perspective, Aunt Jane,” said her niece. “Try looking at it from a different angle and you might feel more positive about it.” “There is no way I can feel positive about living in a silly apartment and giving up the home I have built and loved for so many years.” They were…
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Bridge into Darkness
The bridge ended exactly where the trees began. Although a few splashes of sunlight still played at the very edge of the woods, it was clear that these would be the last traces of light to grace the afternoon. Immediate darkness waited just beyond the final board, and yet I did not want to return…
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Circling
It was a perfectly good day for vultures. When the sun is high and the wind just right, vultures like to play in the warmth just as any of us would. On a day as fine as this, the committee leaves their post on top of the neighbor’s garage and takes to the air, swirling,…
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Identity
“So tell us, Molly, who are you and what do you bring to our practice?” Molly sat quietly for several minutes. She had acquired so many titles and skills over the years: obedient daughter, loving granddaughter, straight-A student, oldest sibling, responsible babysitter, loyal friend, college graduate, wife of Sam, successful lawyer, former lawyer, mother of…
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Decision
Leslie grabbed her head in her hands, tugging at her own hair as she tried to think. The noise inside her head was deafening – a million words crashed through her brain, each one clamoring to emerge as the clear answer in her mind. “What part of ‘for better or worse’ is so damn hard…
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Unsettled
Leslie turned her mug in her hands several times, exhaled a long, slow breath, then added her mug to the table beside Peter’s. “I’d want a guarantee, I guess,” she said, shifting her focus toward repeated unsuccessful attempts to secure some wayward strands of hair behind her ear. Leslie knew it was not in her…
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Tipping Point
“It’s not a question of love, Peter, it’s a question of practicality.” Over their usual weekend coffee, Leslie finally found herself able to say out loud to Peter what she had been deliberating internally for so long: their relationship wasn’t working in its current state and some kind of revision, adjustment, or violent shakeup was…
