I was barefoot running across a cricket field. A woman in a red headband grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward a pen filled with cute black puppies. “Half Saint Bernard, half Man,” she explained. She said it was a new breed and tried to sell me on the perks. Much smarter than a regular dog. Still snuggly, […]
Nonfiction
Half
The Shark Net
My husband of 17 years had an announcement. “Astronomers are saying that one of the stars in Orion is fading and will explode sometime soon.” We were looking up at the sky after a delicious dinner in Western Australia. Our home for several years, we are currently back for a short visit and trying to […]
Big News! I Didn’t Win!
I entered a 53-word story contest and convinced myself I would win. I did not win. This is not the first time I have deluded myself. I once applied to Stanford Business School and was shocked when I didn’t get in. At first, I assumed it was a mistake, that my name must have ended […]
Can Someone Change That Much?
A former white nationalist is sitting at the table next to me, reaching for a miniature fruit tart. I want to tell him he is a goddamn motherfucker and doesn’t get to eat a miniature fruit tart. But I am at an anti-racism event and this man is no longer part of the white nationalist […]
To The Man At The Café Talking On His Phone
Even before you said, “I can’t move their cheese too fast,” I suspected you might be someone who lacks self-awareness. You are on the phone at a café and your voice is too loud. I am trying to read the news. A sixteen-year-old girl with Asperger’s is angry about adults’ disregard for the environment. She […]