Author Archives: susan

Word Count:  382 He was Peter Rabbit and Cupid and Santa. He was Uncle Sam on the Fourth of July. Bozo the clown on summer Saturdays and birthdays, a stripper at bachelorette parties usually held Friday nights. He was forty-seven … Continue reading →

Word Count:  662 “Look, you just can’t play here anymore,” I said. He looked at me without saying a word. “Really,” I persisted, trying to ignore the large lump of bad I felt hanging around me. I hated being forced … Continue reading →

Word Count:  222 She wished upon a star to be a cloud. But then, floating with the wind she thought she’d rather be the sky. Clouds grew big and bulbous with rain, stormy black and mean. But the sky saw … Continue reading →

Word Count:  408 He is a strange little boy, lonely with no brothers or sisters. Raised alone by his mom. His father was killed in the Afghanistan war when he was four. He likes school but he has no real … Continue reading →

Word Count:  275 The day they found him and brought him up from his cellar room he screamed and fought them but they didn’t understand why. He’d lived there since he was three. A boy instead of the girl that … Continue reading →

Word Count:  481 The pact had been Mona’s idea. Said she didn’t want to go on living without him and Ralph thought that was sweet. He resisted but she persisted and he finally agreed. The actual execution of the act … Continue reading →

Word Count:  393 He was unarguably the smartest kid in his class. Though a sixth grader, Steven was probably the smartest kid in the whole school. He loved books more than ball games. He loved math and literature and science. … Continue reading →

Word Count:  501 If you asked him he wouldn’t tell you but he’s afraid of being alone. He’d say he hasn’t “gotten any” in two years since she died. A little laugh, near a snicker. Surely anyone can understand and … Continue reading →

Word Count:  350 There was no heaven nor the hot flames of a hell. Mary believed when people died they lived on in your memory. Her older sister Ruth had been raped and murdered when Mary was twelve. Her mother … Continue reading →

Word Count:  211 He giant-stepped up three steps, hopped back down two. Again and again and again as he made his way up the stairs. He was seven years old and hated going to bed. It took him two hours … Continue reading →