Category: Fiction

• A Party With No Music

  “Do you think anyone else is going to bring potato soup?” Melissa asks, her black hair brushing my cheek as she whips it over her shoulder. I divert my gaze from the road for a moment, dramatically lowering my sunglasses to glance at Melissa in the passenger seat. I can smell her Bath and Body Works perfume…

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• Cheers for the Wicked

              A cop slammed me into the back seat of a police car. A greasy bullet-proof Plexiglas sheet divided the vehicle in two; my cuffed hands laid on my lap. I leaned back against the sticky seats which reeked of body odor. Are people arrested for not wearing deodorant? My cousin Jen, the accomplice, crossed her arms over her…

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• Off Season

  When the tourist season on the island wrapped up, the beach town always closed down. Doors were barred. Attics were sealed tight. Steps were taken not just to keep hurricanes at bay; to keep unwanted visitors away. You could still come and visit in the off-season. The ferry from the mainland continued to call, twice…

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• The Blind Dog

  After school, at the end of the summer of 1989, Nathan Smith rode his bike to the pharmacy. Inside the shop it was cool and dim. The blinds had been drawn to keep out the sun, and the beams of light caught the dust that swirled and eddied in the air currents. Nathan liked the…

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• The Night Job

  “It’s because you’re more Ha’ole than me,” Denton says and I tell him how that’s stupid, because we get the same Mom and Dad. He tells me to think about it but I have thought about it—if Mom is 50% Ha’ole, 50% Chinese, and Dad is mostly Hawaiian with some Filipino, Portuguese, Japanese and Samoan—we’re equally Ha’ole. So I…

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• Farmland

  Welcome to your daily guided meditation. Today your goal is to relax. Situate yourself in a comfortable space. Take several deep breaths. Begin by wrapping your hands around her body, feeling the wings beat beneath your palms. Apply minimal pressure to keep her still. Not too much, not too little. Hold with the same firmness…

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• Chewing On It

  Emma made a face at the little, green leaf floating in her latte foam. The sweet smell wafting up from the cup made her stomach churn. She had made the drink herself with extra foam and a healthy sprinkle of cocoa powder on top, just the way she liked it. Emma tossed the garnish on…

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• One-Nighter

  How long should a post-coital cuddle for a Grindr hook-up be? Is it time to dress and go home? Not like we have anything to talk about. We’re practically strangers. At least he’s not forcing conversation. Though if he says “This is nice” one more time, I’m going to scream.  Is he expecting to go again?…

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• Oneiric

  To suggest it was anything else would be a simple untruth. I cannot fly. I do not swim with jellyfish clouds in a velvet sky. I sit in diners and drink under-brewed coffee and sometimes chat with the server who calls me “Honey.” And I don’t know if it is a term of endearment or…

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• Respite

  The cherry red nail polish on my toes popped against the cedar floor of the outdoor shower. My wet, sandy hair plastered my cheeks and chin, water dripping from the tips, and polka-dotting the wood floor. Though dusk approached, the sun was still overhead, and I lifted my face to it, squinting, feeling safe in…

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