My journal of big words and pretty pictures
The pathway through the marsh was built to endure - straight, solid, and indestructible. Even the marsh’s ravenous denizens were repelled by it. The stone viaduct was impervious to all but the miasma of wretchedness that rose from the muck. The fecund foliage surrounding the path encroached on the bridge’s low barrier rail stretching sinewy … Continue reading Dead man walking
Winter winds swept down the mountain, whipping through bare tree limbs and worming through narrow gaps in the barn walls. It moaned as if in pain from the effort. Loft doors, weakly clinging to rusty hinges, slapped against weathered boards, splintering the already tired wood. Wild curses were lost in the maelstrom as dust devils … Continue reading Precarious calm
There is no way for me to know how many past lives I had to satisfy to come to this incarnation. It could be that I endured many trials, atoned for many wicked deeds, passed through many lifetimes accomplishing worthy deeds of consequence to finally wake into this consciousness. Whatever my path to this vessel, … Continue reading Sweet life
The last item to go onto the pile was the mop she used to clean the kitchen floor. With more vehemence than necessary, she shoved the tines of the For Sale sign in the ground beside the debris. “Still not going to tell him before you leave?“ Aileen had refused to help her sister, Maureen, … Continue reading Gone by sunset
The invitation was penned in elegant calligraphy on fine, handmade cotton rag paper, and sealed with a dark crimson, wax stamp embossed with an intricate Cappas family crest. It was hand-delivered on a sunny, Monday morning, by the family retainer. “Who was that?” Belinda Danner called out to her daughter. Gillian turned the envelope over … Continue reading Meeting the neighbors
She leaned against the weathered windowsill, her hands cupped around her eyes to shield them from the sun. Peering into the one-room cabin, she saw a table bathed in sunlight streaming through the rippled blown-glass panes. The room was just as Elmer described it in his last journal entry, dated 1912. A checkerboard was set … Continue reading King me
Thin spiral notebook 