Cold Harbor

February 8, 2017February 13, 2017 ~ Tara R. ~ 5 Comments

Vast dunes of fine, powder snow dot the shore. A blinding sun shines, and a brisk wind blows in from the ocean. Held in a perpetual winter, temperatures in Espen Strande never rise high enough to melt off the continually amassing ice crystals. Divers are hired specifically to keep the harbor from icing over. Protected … Continue reading Cold Harbor

Cat Paw Island

February 2, 2017August 31, 2018 ~ Tara R. ~ 2 Comments

Walking along the sandy path that skirted Crystal Lake, no one would never know that the unremarkable body of water was actually a rare phenomenon found only a few places in the world. The lake, a shimmering oasis of green on the leeward side of the ocean dunes, was a freshwater habitat until fluctuations in the … Continue reading Cat Paw Island

Swiss Army wife

January 27, 2017 ~ Tara R. ~ 9 Comments

I am like one of those elaborate utility tools. You know the ones. They have umpteen different knife blades, a screwdriver, a bottle opener, a corkscrew, a saw (like something that tiny would ever be useful on anything thicker than a toothpick), a nail file, and an itty, bitty pair of scissors. I’m useful to … Continue reading Swiss Army wife

So, it begins

January 19, 2017January 23, 2017 ~ Tara R. ~ 5 Comments

The plain, wooden cross, skillfully constructed from weathered, white-washed fence slats, appeared overnight in St. Anthony Gardens at the neglected burial site of a nameless decedent. Great care had been given to crafting a traditional grave marker, one that was reverent and not pretentious as were so many of the monolithic tributes in the cemetery. … Continue reading So, it begins

Swept away

January 10, 2017January 30, 2017 ~ Tara R. ~ 4 Comments

Thin, towering hardwoods, heavy Spanish moss draping the canopy, and thorny vines woven between the limbs and trunks, acted as a curtain, shrouding the glade where the old house sat. Trudging down what was once the driveway, but now was thick with tall grass, Vance searched for anything familiar and failing miserably. He whistled a … Continue reading Swept away

Somniloquy

December 20, 2016 ~ Tara R. ~ 5 Comments

“D’rum, d’rum, d’rum, d’rrrrrrumm, d’rrrrrrummmmm, er d’ruh, er d’ruh, errrr d’rum.” It wasn’t his gibberish that woke her. He was speaking so softly, she had to lean in close to hear what he was saying. What woke her was it wasn’t his usual train-engine snoring. Every night for weeks, he repeated the word, “d’rum.” He … Continue reading Somniloquy