Category: fiction
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The Sound of Bells
On the street rests crumbled relics, hardened with time, crushed and oxidized. They cannot be seen from the sagging porch facing the street but their existence is made known by the stressing sound of each individual granule as it scrapes beneath the drifting wheels of the night cruisers. Looking for a quiet place to park,…
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NO ONE TOLD ME
No one told me and I didn’t guess. Short sighted of me I know. When I was younger, I would think I will never clear my throat like that when I am talking. I would never be vain enough to trim my nose hair. Never will I be vain enough to trim my ear…
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The Ferryman’s Coin
You stand upon the bank of a dark river. The restless water moves against any rational tide, as though it reaches out to draw you in. The small waves, each struggling against the others, whisper to you, offering all the unanswered secrets of your life, yet something keeps you from diving into that umbrous tide. …
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Grathaholt & Ever-Grower
Long ago in the land of Asgaard, there lived all of the gods of the northmen in great happiness. Their king, Odin, was powerful, and dangerous, with his mighty spear, Gungnir, and their queen, Frigg, was very beautiful, wise, and deep-sighted. Odin and Frigg had a son, whose name was Thor, and he was the…
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Amongst the Gentiles
“How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?/ If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.” Psalm 137 One Every morning I get…
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My Telescope
I set my telescope to view what could not be viewed, the blackness of space. I corrected for the billions of years of differentials and began my search for what was. I wanted to find the remnants of a planet in orbit of a star that went super nova. My calculations indicated that by the…
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Alchemist’s Coffee
“That’s $10.50. Would you like to sign up for an Alchemist’s reward card today?” Miles asked as he stared vacantly at the woman across the counter. She shook her head no. They always said no. He swiped her platinum card and moved to the espresso machine and listened to the grind of the coffee beans…
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Meet a Girl at a Bar
You meet a girl at a bar. Here’s how it goes. You came for the gig straight after work because that’s your deal. You work, listen to some music, sleep, repeat. Sometimes you don’t eat but you do your three albums a day like musician does practice. So you go to the gig. Alone. Like…
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Seventh Heaven
The October colors of the sugar maple trees along the sidewalk flickered in the slight breeze. Maples did not do well in the Phoenix climate, but that did not matter. These trees were artificial. It would take a close examination by an arborist to tell the trees were an imitation. In fact, many people preferred…
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George MacDonald Universalism against Hans Urs von Balthasar on Universal Salvation
Many a wrong, and its curing song; Many a road, and many an inn; Room to roam, but only one home For all the world to win. (Eve, in MacDonald’s Lilith) I want to put two eschatologies in conversation, that of Hans Urs von Balthasar on Universal Salvation and that of George MacDonald Universalism. The…
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Math is Beautiful
Having grown tired of his students asking why they needed to know math, Mike Glank came up with a plan. For eight months he had responded to their question with “You should know math because it is beautiful.” This would stun them long enough that he could go on to the next thing. But they…
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Air Bubble
“Please roll up your shirt Mr…..Lange?” The doctor glanced at her clipboard for confirmation. As he rolled his sleeve, a sea of violent, racist imagery slapped her eyes. She recoiled but continued shakily. “Ok Mr. Lange, you’ll feel a pinch.” The inmate’s metal teeth smirked at her. His neck tattoos danced. “Clearly you don’t follow…