Character Portrait — A Sister Unarmored
Character Portrait — A Sister Unarmored Liz December 15, 2025 Character Portrait Character Portrait Mary Alice, A Sister Unarmored She Fought in Life and in Dying. She carried hurt like a concealed weapon — hidden, but ready. Experience built her spine into defense, always braced for the next blow. Lonely, yet choosing aloneness, shielding her uncertainties […]
Character Portrait — A Man Made of Fear
Character Portrait — A Man Made of Fear Liz December 15, 2025 Character Portrait Character Portrait A Man Made of Fear Daniel, Bigger Than Men, Not Bigger Than Death His huge frame moved with arrogant swagger — as if the world were his alone. His chiseled face and cold, hard stare carried the promise of […]
Cigarettes and Cookies
Cigarettes and Cookies Liz December 15, 2025 Vignette Vignette The road stretches out before us, our legs carrying us away — not toward. Warm summer morning light guides us forward. Our shadows trail behind, scrambling to keep pace as we hurry. Dust kicks up under bare feet — rock, grit, heat. We walk faster the […]
The Day the Mower Lost
The Day the Mower Lost Liz December 1, 2025 Conflict Vignette As I cling to the rough and knotty trunk of the magnolia tree, I have a clear view of him, the cardboard box and the dusty carport. His movements are slow and deliberate, but begin to quicken as the sound of tearing cardboard and […]
A Road Paved with Candy
She unfolds the crumpled neck of the brown paper bag and cups its bottom in her hand. A moment of stillness lets it remain upright until the point of liberation.
The Ritual of Ash and Ember
The Ritual of Ash and Ember Liz December 1, 2025 Observation Vignette The faint crackle of the cigarette ember burns bright in the center of a smoky haze. Her sallow face and bony fingers are illuminated by the glow. A long deep drag heats her airway as smoke swirls around her head. The smoke is […]
Behind the Wheel, Beside the Fear
The road moves silently forward in concert with a stream of rushing traffic. The night air is cool, but my skin is warm and clammy.
Where Stillness Had Fangs
The woods are alive with sounds of birds and the rustle of leaves—brittle and soft.Though it sits in the middle of the woods, the shack is lifeless; quiet and still.Its rickety clapboard exterior is intact, interrupted only by a warped and dusty wooden door and windows.
Temporary Refuge
I jump past him and his weapon as I run for cover, crouching under the table for a brief escape. His cursing and shouting follow as Mahoney chairs crash into each other, the crack of the belt against furniture as it scores several misses.
What Never Was Cannot Be Recovered
He opened the door to a stranger—one who stepped back, guarded, down two steps at the sight of him. He stepped forward, extending his trembling hand toward her, but grasped the cold iron railing instead. Her right foot moved backward, searching for the last step, her eyes still fixed on the stranger’s face.