June 7, 1883 -Justin Ivey- After I read the letter Damon wrote to Jesus, I fold it back into itself and start digging a grave. I am uncertain of how many graves I should be digging. I am three feet deep, three feet wide, and seven feet tall before I stop to rest. I sit with my feet in the grave and look at the smoldering rubble of the house. I cannot belie...
It was a beautiful July day. Rebecca St. James was enjoying the time off. She was enjoying the sun and being with her family and her boyfriend. It was nice to be off the tour and just have a picnic, she thought. It was very relaxing. Rebecca ate her fill and was lying in the sun. She smiled at her boyfriend, Jimmy. Now she stood up. "Jimmy and I are going f...
I could not believe my eyes when the black pickup truck drove up to the farmhouse and their granddaughter hopped out. I was standing by the barn, hitching up the hay wagon to the farm truck, and had to stop when I saw her run up to the porch to greet her grandparents. They told me she was coming to help with the haying for the weekend, but I had no idea she...
Your farmer made way down the hill towards the barn. You followed, casually sauntering down the hill, managing to pick up some speed in your descent. Moving on all fours had become second nature to you. Keira followed slowly. You turned and looked back at her with the dopey smile of a placid cow. She looked sad. You couldn't figure out why, maybe she needed...
It was not too far from the middle of nowhere. I stood beside the rented truck, arms folded protectively against the wind, eyes searching the landscape for any sign of life. North, south, nothing but pale, dead fields. East, west, only a slim gray road. Both views for as far as the eye could see. "Well, Sanvalle is about ten miles west." I turned quickly to...
In that dark of summer's eve, Su had just tucked the children in for the night. For many months now, the townsfolk were out, fighting the war. Their children safe in her midst at the old manor as she spent her days with them as teacher and the evenings after as nanny. They loved her for her gentle grace, affectionately calling her the very same, "nanny." S...
I could not believe my eyes when the black pick up truck drove up to the farm house and their grand daughter hopped out. I had just turned sixty and wanted to get away from my old routine and decided on an adventure-- "why not," I said and two days later, took off. I had been working my way west in my beat up Subaru and answered an ad for a temporary farm ha...
The parking lot was empty, but that was nothing unusual at six in the morning. Justin rolled up and parked on the far edge of the gravel lot, letting out a yawn. He'd stayed up a little late studying, but he wasn't going to miss the opportunity his father was finally providing. Besides, it was a welcome distraction from the lack of sex resulting from dumping...
Long ago, Mars was a thriving, bustling planet. Its three billion inhabitants lived in peace and harmony, enjoying the fruits of an industrialized society. They had even ventured out into space, having managed to send their very first satellite into orbit. They had hoped to find their place in the universe. What they discovered was an asteroid. They glimps...
"Thought so," I said while watching the girl standing by the door of the garage that doubled as a storage room, her hands in the back pockets of her jeans while she bit her lower lip. "All talk and no action." "Am not," Roxie said as she shifted her weight from side to side while pawing at the dirt floor with her sneaker. "Well, let's see what you got girl...