Author Archives: susan

Word Count:  352 He looked around at his new office, bigger than he had imagined. Walnut furniture. Light steel gray plush carpeting. A few Picassos and a Matisse. Prints, of course, but reflecting his new status as much as the … Continue reading →

Word Count:  471 She lived all her life at the outskirts of town, beyond the reach of the routines and bustle of regulated life. She grew her own food in well-tended gardens, ate fresh fruit and vegetables summer into fall, … Continue reading →

Word Count:   360 The mountains drip cherry trees down their scattered slate chins. The weeds and small brush clamber uphill like groupies, wild in their adoration of the rock star tall trees. It’s a peaceful and natural setting. No one … Continue reading →

Word Count: 469 “I’m a witch,” she said and she looked it. Gorgeous long black hair and a dress cut down to there. Huge lavender eyes with a corona of thick lashes; full, full garnet lips. At least that’s my … Continue reading →

Word Count:  348 Gravedigger stood off in the shadows of the bordering elms waiting for the end of the service. His arms carelessly leaned on his shovel as he eyed the small cluster of mourners, spent the time figuring out … Continue reading →

Word Count:  354 He’s the guy next door. Lived there for as long as you can remember. Was about thirteen or fourteen, you think, when his family moved in. Nice people, stuck to themselves but were there if you needed … Continue reading →

Word Count:  486 Too far. It’s just gone too far. I wake in a fetal position. Blood pounding through my head tells me I am alive. A wicked cramp strains through my whole body but I cannot stretch out. My … Continue reading →

Word Count:  301 I am diminished by nightmares. Horrible images flash through my mind in their three-second clarity. Blood running redder than that in my veins. Cliffs that cut open the sky from which people like lemmings tumble over and … Continue reading →

Word Count:  371 These are the hands that maneuvered the broom that swept the body onto the shovel. These are the hands that were inside the gloves that touched the shovel that carried the body and flung it into the … Continue reading →

Word Count:  338 “A little dry, isn’t it?” he said of the pot roast, and “Another minute would have been good for the beans,” he said. She said nothing but watched as he ate. Too many years of worrying. Too … Continue reading →