The Game: Part One

                I told him he had to wait for the signal. I knew he’d wait for as long as I wanted. So I calmly sat at the bar and sipped my bourbon. Another fifteen minutes wouldn’t bother me, and the anticipation would drive him crazy in all the good ways. I could feel his eyes on my back from all the way across the room. I could nearly feel his breath on my neck. The air was electric in this old hotel, and the scent of oil polish from the beautiful mahogany bar made me heady. It was one of the most exquisite places in Old Town. Certainly, it was where I’d long pictured this scene playing out.

                Finally, I finished my drink. I reached into my purse and left the bartender a cash tip. I picked up the nearly empty glass to get the last bit of warmth from the bourbon. As I set it down on the bar, I tapped my forefinger three times on the rim of the empty glass. 

                The game was on.

                By the time I swiveled in the barstool and touched my heels to the ground, he’d already left his perch and headed for The Room. I noted the ding from the elevator and heard a tipsy couple enter the lobby. Their voices bounced off the tile floor in the wide open space, so I couldn’t tell if he’d entered the elevator or not. Their drunken giggles masked any chance of hearing the stairwell door closing. So whether he sprinted for the stairs or took his chances with the elevator, I couldn’t tell at this point.

                I smoothly shimmied down the hem of my navy dress and headed for the door leading to the lobby. I flipped the ends of my straightened hair over my shoulders so I could see everyone in my peripheral vision as I left. As I expected, several glances followed me to the door. The dress left little to the imagination with its curve hugging silhouette. I knew I had the hourglass to pull it off. This dress accomplished my goal of dropping some jaws.

                My heels made a soft click as I crossed the lobby to catch the elevator. There was only one lift, and I grinned when I saw the light shining for the up arrow. But after several moments, I realized that the elevator was still headed up. We were only on the fifth floor. He must have sent the cabin to the top floor to buy some additional time.

                Clever boy.

                The game was on.

                The elevator eventually made its way back to me, and the doors opened. I stepped in and pressed the button for floor five. The elevator rumbled its way to the fifth floor and opened its doors. The hallway turned to the left, and I followed the gaudy red and gold carpeting to room 506.

                I paused, if only for a split second, outside the door to listen for scamperings from within. I heard nothing. I grinned.

                I slid the key card into the lock and swung open the door.

                There he was. As promised.

                Clothes folded neatly on the corner of the cheap side table.

                Abeyante.

                Blindfolded.

                And beautifully naked.

                Only his efforts of trying to conceal his labored breathing betrayed his rush.

                The game was on.

 

Bound

                Suddenly, he was there. The unmistakable scent of cinnamon and nutmeg. His fingers twisted up in my hair. His lips racing across the flesh of my neck. Neither distance nor time mattered in this moment. My heart thundered in my chest. Tears slipped down my cheek. I knew he was only there for a few more heartbeats. It was our nightly ritual.

                Then I realized he’d been here too long.   

                I wasn’t aware I’d been holding my breath until he held my face in his hands and begged, “Come with me…”

                And I felt myself let go as I exhaled a final breath.

 

The Lost Ragdoll

The storm

Violent and destructive 

It tears and rips

Crushes and wrecks

Yet no one can see

What lies in its wake 

When it rages 

Inside 

Unsaved

Broken toys 

Tossed out with the trash

Missing pieces 

Burned out bulbs

Scuffed paint

Broken limbs

No one realized 

I'm not dead

oneDay

I'll be 

Loved

Accepted

I'll be

Wanted

Needed

I'll be

Beautiful

Worthy

But the world 

Refuses to see me 

As I am 

sideExit

The quiet one

The hurting one

Completely confident

No one notices

As white

Turns grey

Turns black

She dies

Without knowing 

She was loved 

No one mourns

The ugly things

slowDeath

The only way to 

Stop the drowning is to breathe

In all the water

violentExhale

The sensuous beauty in 

Pausing to listen 

Stopping to feel 

Holding a breath

Don't you dare 

Twitch

Blink

Vocalize 

Move a muscle 

The unspoken tension

The breaking and binding 

Just let me

Crash into you 

Inanimate

They can't know

They can't see

Lest they judge 

I can't explain the 

Scars on my wrist 

Any more than the 

Scars on my heart 

It's nothing more than

Morbid curiosity 

Over a broken doll

That used to be a girl

Hatred

The char

The smell

Flesh burning 

Crumpled and twisted thing 

There is no recognizing

What I'm sure 

Was a heart

Once 

The Long

The breeze and the moon

And a halo of stars 

The open sky holds me close 

And your breath is on my neck

Miles transform into inches

When I close my eyes 

And imagine the night

As my love 

Water

Don't you understand?

The broken flower is fed 

By tears, same as rain. 

Freight

Teasing at the tip of my tongue

Dancing at the edge of my brain 

A memory 

I don't know why

I left behind

Until its remembrance 

Threatens to crush me

Once more

Medicines

Hello Demon

It's been a while

I'd forgotten about you 

Sitting in the corner 

I suppose I always knew

You'd never

Forget me

Leave me

Replace me

Fill the holes in my heart

With your tar

And heal me as

Only you can

Wheels

You never said a word

I heard you 

You never turned on a light

I saw you 

There was a mirror to my soul

That matched yours

A tether between worlds 

Between lives

Between two fixed points in time

Between us

An undeniable gravity

That draw the inevitable 

Together

The beauty of 

Supernova 

The blinding

Of the cosmos 

The Stones

 

                I tripped over my skirts several times while sprinting to The Stones.  It didn’t matter how torn my clothing was. It didn’t matter how ragged I looked. I couldn’t let him marry her. 

                The day started with the smell of distant snow in the air. There was surely to be a storm on this day that lead to the longest night. My morning chores were nearly complete when I reached into the pocket of my lamb’s wool cloak to warm my hands. I was surprised to find a letter stashed there. My hand trembled a bit as I unfolded the missive. Creighton’s familiar handwriting danced across the page. 

“I’m marrying Rhiannon. I do not want or need to hear from you again.”

                My overwhelming anguish manifested in a strangled sob. He’d loved me once. Or so he claimed. Wanted me. Needed me. He would tell me how his heart raced at the thought of us together. And now this letter exposed the depth of his lies. I felt my heart hammering in my chest while wrenching itself to pieces. I desperately fought to draw in air. My head was spinning, and all I could smell was the stench of bile as it rose its way from my twisted stomach.  I had to go to him.

                Father said he’d seen Creighton with Rhiannon and her druid earlier in the morn. I frantically searched the entire village for them, and they were nowhere to be found. It was nearly suncrest. I knew I had no time to waste. There was only one other place they could be.

                I grabbed my heaviest wrap and took off toward The Stones.

                Blinded by winter winds and scorching tears, I rubbed the back of my wool-wrapped hand across my leaking eyes. The snow fell harder and harder. It endangered my plan and nearly forced me to return to the safety of my home, but my desperation to see him overrode all reason. I had to hear it from his lips before I could truly believe the ugliness of his written words.

                I made it to The Stones just before the sun hit its zenith on the shortest day of the year. Three figures stood in the middle of The Stones. There was still time for me to intervene.

                I drew a deep breath into my blazing lungs. “CREIGHTON!” I screamed with every last ounce of strength I had. I fell to my hands and knees, exhausted. 

                My voice caused all three figures to turn toward me. The druid looked smug as he lowered his hands to his sides. Rhiannon looked radiant and triumphant. Creighton looked at me like he was reclaiming a long faded memory.

                I looked at Rhiannon. “Don’t do this,” I pleaded. But the incantations had already been chanted and the offerings had already been burnt.

                The sun peaked and bathed The Stones in white light. I raised my arm to shield my eyes from the glare. I saw the kiss they shared as a silhouette against the shimmering ice crystals. My love was lost. The ceremony was over. Creighton belonged to her.

                “You WITCH!” I screamed. I tried to stand, but my legs refused to heed my wishes. 

                Rhiannon leaned in close to Creighton’s ear. “Remember her.” It wasn’t a question. It was a command.

                Creighton turned to look at me. His eyes rushed full of tears while the bewitched memories came flooding back. “Lioslaith…” he whispered as his tears embodied his heartbreak.  

                “Now watch as your beloved dies,” Rhiannon purred.

                My eyes widened it terror. 

                Rhiannon lifted her graceful arm and backhanded the air.

                My head jerked violently to the left as my neck cracked.

                Darkness.

 

tinyGifts

A heart 

All closed up

Trapped in a cell

Of her own making 

He sat outside the cage

So she could see

And waited for her

To open the door 

So he could join her in

Her sanctuary 

Until she felt safe enough

To step outside 

INK

The difference between

Darkness and night is knowing

When the sun will rise. 

Nature

A girl with

Wildfire on her tongue

Lightning in her fingertips 

Earthquakes in her eyes

A hurricane in her heart 

And tornadoes in her soul

Let her be

Your perfect storm 

Log Cabin Windows

Smell the calm

Taste the darkness

Touch the stars 

Bathe in the moonlight 

And feel my love 

Find your center 

And I've found

My home 

demonWhispers

You're ugly

    They said

You're unwanted 

    They sneered 

You're unloveable 

    They teased

But somehow 

I'm the only one

That can hear them  

Purgatory

I can swallow the lows

I can enjoy the highs

It's the long middles

Those eternal in betweens

That threaten

To crush me 

thunderHeads

The pinprick 

The stab in the heart 

I can feel the heat spread 

The warm and sticky blood

And soon my whole chest 

Is on fire and soaked 

I chase the rain

The only way to wash myself 

Clean of you

But the clouds move 

Faster than I can 

catchingTears

Hummingbird wings

Darting from side to side

There to kiss away the tears

Before they have the chance

To fall 

Terrified

Run for your life 

Little Rabbit

Can't stop

Won't stop 

To look back

There's fire and smoke

And nothing left 

Run 

Run

Run

Don't let him catch you

Don't let him see you cry

Don't let him know

How afraid you are

Run away

So he can forget you 

Ever existed

Run 

Run 

Run

~~~The thoughts that fly

~~~Through my head as I 

~~~Stand frozen 

~~~Unable to move

~~~And weep 

Spark

Nothing special 

A tiny shell of a thing

Unnoticed

Hard to see 

Amongst the polished glass

Trying its best 

To outshine the sun

unintentionalPrison

Cages and boxes

Used for keeping 

Things safe

Sometimes fail

For Love of Hawks and Doves

There is something 

Something so fierce 

And wild 

And beautiful

Something that has been caged

Something misunderstood

And neglected

Made to perform

Made to bend

Made to yield

I am unafraid

To open your cage

For how else will you 

Fly with me 

Decisions

Hollowed out 

Left behind to heal or die

And I don't know which

Path to take 

barlessPrison

Shifting sands

Make for unsure footing

Better to stay 

On the stone 

Of my cave

And watch the others

Fall instead

And The Skies Weep

Fat, heavy raindrops

Falling from the darkened skies

Match my broken soul.  

Core

Come to me

My love 

Let me whisper the words again

Remind you of

Who you are

And what you mean

Let me wash the wounds

The world gave you

With my tears of joy

Crawl inside my heart

And let me protect you 

Come to me

And let forever start

With a kiss 

The Lonely Arbor

Be brave, My Willow.

The storm won't last forever. 

What bends will not break. 

spinningHands

Days. Months. Years. Decades. 

All of it would fly by if 

I knew I'd be yours. 

binaryWaters

Across the sea

She waits

Abeyante and patient

While digital tide 

Goes in and out 

Kissing just her knees

As it rises to meet her

Then vanishes as silently

As it appeared 

Oh to be held by the waves

Oh to be drowned in its embrace

But fleeting kisses

Must suffice 

As her soul's only comfort

The Naked Heart

Alone and shivering

Abandoned in a hailstorm

Little shelter under this leaf

Naked

Afraid

Until the bird taught her

She didn't need clothes

She only needed wings 

The Shelved Ragdoll

She sat

Quietly

Patiently 

Abeyante and still

Eyes stitched closed 

And decorated 

By thick lashes

Relying only on sound

To tell her when her

Steadfast Tin Soldier 

Was near 

The Magician's Coinpurse

I wish I had a 

penny for every moment 

you don't think of me. 

Human 76 and Sheshwahtay

Author's note: I always intended this blog to be about my work. I never wanted to tell a story before I told a story, and I never felt the need to add my personal voice to it. This post is a little something different. I've been lucky enough to be included in an anthology unlike anything I've ever read. And now here I am on Publishing Eve, trying to keep my shit together while my lifelong dreams finally  spread their wings. It's frightening and beautiful and awesome. It's intimidating and amazing. And it certainly wouldn't be possible without you, the reader.
So I give you a little snippet of my short story, Sheshwahtay, included in the Human 76 anthology. Enjoy.....and Sheshwahtay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two Horns was up to his shenanigans again. 

“Give it here!” Red Foot screamed at her older brother. “Give me the doll!” She chased after him as he danced around her, holding the delicate, hand-made cornhusk doll just out of reach. 

“You’ll have to fight harder than that to get it, Little Sister. Catch me if you can!” He followed his taunt with a teasing look, and he took off at a sprinter’s pace down the foot path toward the creek.  

Red Foot’s shoulders slumped as she watched her brother’s slim build vanish into the wood. The last thing she could see before he disappeared under the dark canopy was the flame of his unruly, red curls. “Awww, forget it. You’re not worth it, Two Horns,” she said as her defeated gaze shifted downward. She balled up her tiny fists and hollered after him, “You’ll be back for dinner anyway!” 

Summer was giving way to autumn. The leaves had just started to turn magnificent shades of yellow and red. The sun took its leave earlier and earlier each evening. Nights brought that undeniable, crisp smell of impending winter. Yet somehow everything seemed colder than past years.  I feared the effects of the Blast were finally beginning to creep into our home. I’d spent 37 years on this mountain, and I could feel things were changing. There was more of a bite in the winds that blew into our home. The skies were more grey. And winter was still a long way off. 

 

 

 

 

buriedAlive

Can't breathe

The air too thick

To draw breath 

Suffocating

Crushing

Slow motion death 

No mercy

No hope for

A quick end

To the agony 

silentScreams

So many times

The words are right there

Begging to be spoken

Each time they 

Are barricaded 

By fear

By insecurity

By demons

So the clock keeps turning

And the world keeps spinning

And nothing is really different 

On the outside 

Internal civil war

Rages 

A battle

You'll never see

Burrows of Burden

Terrible burden 

And I carry it alone 

Alone 

Alone down the hole

No one willing to follow me

Into darkness 

The deepest recesses

Are frightening alone

Alone 

Alone I scurry

Trying to balance the weight

And wanting to scream

And tell the world 

But I need to make it down

My rabbit hole farther

So that nobody hears

Terrible terrible

Horrible truths

That only my back 

Can carry 

Three Hundred Sixty Five Yesterdays

There was no way

For you to remember

And impossible

For me to forget

The time flies

And crawls

Simultaneously

And I can't let go

Of things I never held 

Catalyst

The touch burns

Like fire

Across my flesh 

A fingertip that

Creates or destroys

And all I can do is watch

As my heart 

Is bound to you 

Drowning Alice

No where left to turn

The bottle empty

The razor dull

Deaf ears can't repeat gossip

Blind eyes don't see pain

It's a miserable existence 

Without you

Maybe the oxygen

Will betray me as well

See It Matches

No way to show you

My insides

To prove they outshine

What you can see

Hidden in the rough 

The greatest treasure 

You've never seen 

Hollow

Make me feel

Make me believe

I'm not surrounded by nothingness

Make me hear

Make me see

There's someone to save me 

Make me confident

Make me understand  

Your hand is always available

Make me bloom

Make me beautiful

Make me 

Yours

Thrash

I hear the thunder. 

I smell the incoming storm. 

Do your worst, my love. 

forbiddenFruit

All the things 

I am dying to say

The unseen raging river below

The icecap

A million words for 

What I feel 

The dam 

The Pandora's Box 

The sealing wax 

Has cracked

It takes all my

Silent strength and willpower 

To cradle the knowledge

Deep in my chest

And keep it to myself 

Unsaid

But what if she died?

I never told her the depth

Of my affection. 

crazyDiamond

Sparkle you diamond

Do your best 

To catch his eye

You're tiny

You're buried 

There's little chance 

Of being found

But shine your hardest

And miracles happen

Invaders

I can hear them

Scratching at the door 

Rattling the window

The demons are trying to 

Invade once more 

You're not enough 

Pretty enough

Smart enough 

Funny enough

Only wanted by demon

And devils

As a plaything 

For evil 

digitalFootprint

Quickened heartbeat

The joy of seeing you

The thrill of hearing you

The tidal wave of emotion

That threatens to crush

Also rebuilds 

It's real

It powerful 

Until it vanishes

With you 

sharedPossession

Paint me your color

Rich reds 

Vibrant violets

Make me your instrument 

Soaring strings

Blaring brass

Touch my silk

Taste my salt

Breathe in the perfume

Let me overwhelm you

Let me possess you

And I'll give it back to you 

In ways you can't imagine 

In ways you won't forget

Until you can't let go either 

neverFree

I forgot you 

For five minutes 

My heart was free

The shackle was broken

My wings stretched wide

For five minutes 

I felt human

I felt alive 

I felt valuable

Until I remembered my jailer

And the cell door

Closed one more 

TwitterShort Challenge 12

                

 

 

               Boomer struggled for breath as she wrapped her fingers around the chain link. While trying to recover her lungs, she glanced over her shoulder and felt the relief of being alone. She’d outrun them once more. There was no way she was ever going to be bullied into wearing that flannel onesie that smelled like half a jar of dill pickles was spilled down its front through the middle school halls again. They’d caught her once, and it took an entire bottle of hand sanitizer to get the smell off of her skin.

                After school, she would always run here. The Sandlot. It was her private paradise. Abandoned for years, the overgrown field barely resembled the glory that had been. The brick half-wall that marked the home run dividing line was crumbling. Most of the red bricks were worn and split in two. The pitcher’s mound was barely a bump. The base path was covered in spearmint. Boomer was in heaven.

                She wiggled her way through the gate. The latch was rusty, and one end was snapped off and secured with wire. Boomer didn’t even bother with it, since she was tiny enough to slip through the opening. And she made her way to the mound.

                Boomer could hear the announcer: AND NOW, REPRESENTING YOUR BARTONVILLE BOUNTY HUNTERS… BOOMER “THE KID” JENKINS! She comes in with an ERA of 1.00 and the meanest 12-6 curve ball you’ve ever seen. Looking to make the final out against the visiting Bronze Wombats of Willow Creek. This could be the most pressure The Kid has been under. Will she get this final out of the game?

                Boomer took her spotlight center stage. She grabbed the rosin bag and bounced it in her palm. The dust floated like an angelic cloud around her hand. She let the bag drop, straightened her hat, and leaned forward.

                She shook off the first two signs and then nodded. She settled into her stance. Lightning quick, she unloaded a 98 mph fast ball right down the middle. Caught the batter looking. Strike one.

                The routine started again, and she tried for the inside of the plate. Foul tip. Strike two.

                Down to the final strike, Boomer knew how to finish him off. The sign was made. Her smirk was her reply. The set up. The release. And an absolutely filthy sinker left the batter swinging at air. Strike three. Game over. Series winners.

                Boomer threw her glove in the air and waited for the mob of teammates. For two minutes, nothing else mattered. Tomorrowdidn’t matter. The future didn’t matter. There was no way to know that her fortune would be secured by trading a tiny pink USB flash drive full of pictures of the District Attorney holding double ended purple jelly dildos and wearing black leather Domme shoes. That was a future far away.

                Right now, Boomer was just enjoying her Gatorade ice bath from her team, and enjoying the power of imagination.

 

Missing

Night falls again

The dark couldn't be 

Any darker

And yet it's colder somehow

I'm nothing special 

No standout

It's hard to see a shadow

In shade

It's impossible to tell

When something is gone

If it never existed 

fourSeasons

Love was bright

Until Love met Doubt

Doubt taunted and mocked

Love

Doubt belittled and chastised

Love 

Until Love passed away 

Doubt didn't care

Love was dead

Until Doubt met Hope 

Hope rekindled and regrew

Love

Hope strenthened and fortified 

Love 

Until Love was reborn

Hope didn't care

Love was bright 

Until Love met Doubt 

Drained

Nothing left

A heart that no longer beats 

I'm cold

I'm stone

Six feet under

Everything signaling

A life that was 

Reached for the wizard's hand

And let him steal the

Life force

Until there is

Nothing left 

keyLatch

Make me 

Claim me

Polish me until 

I shine 

In your light 

Take the flame 

That's yours

And fan it into 

An inferno

Turn me into 

A piece of you

You can't imagine

Living without 

Relocation

Discarded toy 

No one wants you

Broken

Damaged

Ugly

Worthless

No one looks for treasures

In the landfill

Abandon hope

This is your home now 

The Driftwood Doll

I still sense you

To think a lighthouse 

Could ever be hidden

Proves your folly

The rocks below call 

And beg

For my soul to be dashed

But I'm trying to

Navigate the best I can

The ugly and cold sea 

And 

Just 

Stay

Afloat

Andante

Tattoo your music

Across my heart

Never let

Go 

Listen to the pieces of my soul

Echoing in you

Moving and still

Electric and peaceful

Tin Tank

A thing

For play

To command how you wish

Enjoy what's yours

Rough or calm

The thought of your

Heat makes me melt

Own me 

Use me 

Get me off 

Heal me

Then lie about your love

Lessons Learned in Limbo

I can't move forward.

I'm left locked in a filthy 

Cage without a key. 

Low Tide

Alone and naked

On the beach

All I can do is 

Remain abeyante and 

Stare at the line 

In the sand

The one you drew

The one you established

The one you walked away from 

I followed every rule

I completed every task

You called me 

You claimed me

You said I was perfect

So why am I 

Alone and naked

On the beach 

Remember her Place

To be reminded

a girl has no place

she is not special

Or unique 

There is nothing about her

That anyone cannot find

Somewhere else 

she gets replaced 

Over and over

she is nothing

she is trash

she has been thrown away

she waits on her shelf

Until she is used again

Dear Copperfield

Maybe I was that dumb

Always is a powerful word

Going against my head

I would have

Crossed countries for you 

Love Left Blind Behind

Turn it off

You'll get over it

A million other 

Dismissive phrases 

But I've grieved for so long

I've forgotten that anything

Else exists

Then I wonder who it is

That really died

You or me

The thought

Becoming irrelevant

Because the outcome

Remains the same 

Sistine

That inner calm

I used to know

That peace 

That confidence

Instantly

Reduced to ash

The bitter, acrid stench

Of lies and deceit 

Makes me vomit 

Over and over

Purging whatever feeling

I had left

I'm stranded here

No one

Could possibly want

The empty shell

This masterpiece you created 

The Inevitable Abandonment

Unwanted

Unneeded

Shelved

That's what happens to 

Ragdolls 

When they dare to love 

Little boys who lie

About forever

Finality

Will there be a time

I can remember and 

Not bleed

Will I ever just

Forget it hurts

Will I be able to put

One foot in front of

The other 

Without the bed of coals

The scarf says yes

The bullet says yes

The razor says yes

The fumes say yes 

The bottle says yes

The pills say yes

My soul finally listens to them and

Whispers back 

Yes 

Hostage

Haunted 

Shriveled husk 

The disease

Eating away

Gnawing

Leaving nothing behind

Be proud Dr Frankenstein

Of the creature you made

Look at it and know

You're the father of despair

The parent of worthlessness 

The mastermind of a broken soul

No one could ever love

A thing as hideous

As what stares back at me

Reflected in

My prison windowpane  

The Empty Shell

I wish you would have 

Killed me since I'm not really 

Living anyway 

Winter

Still lost

Still struggling

This abandoned heart

Still unable

To abandon its promise 

I swore to love

For always

Regardless of whether 

You felt the same

Regardless of whether

You want it or not

My promise stands 

Just An Adjective

Bitch

Slut

Whore

Cunt

Go ahead 

I've been called worse

Things like

Smart

Stunning

Funny 

Creative

Delicious 

And I'd rather be called 

An ugly truth

Than a beautiful lie 

TwitterShort Challenge 11

 

 

                It was my fourth call of the night. I was already exhausted. I looked up and could see the faint full moon even though there was still daylight in the sky. No wonder everyone was a little Froot Loops tonight. Frakking full moon.

                I crumpled up the empty bag of Fritos and tossed it on the seat next to me. High class dining. I fired up my sedan.

                I met Dino at the crime scene. He descended on me as soon as I opened my car door. “You’re not gonna like this one, Boss. It’s as ugly as Lieutenant Ken’s shorts in there.”          

                I laughed at the simile. Ken was never going to live down that golf outing.

                “Talk to me, Dino.” We walked toward the house.

                “Burglary gone wrong. Seems like the perp picked the wrong granny. Blowtorch Bobby…”

                I interrupted him. “Wait? The perp is Blowtorch Bobby? Ken’s CI?”

                Dino nodded. “Yup. The same. Rather, the perp WAS Blowtorch Bobby.”

                Oh, this just keeps getting better and better.

                “What do you mean “WAS”?”

                “Better just to show you, Boss,” he said as he held the door.

                The home was decorated in kitsch and hideous 90’s wallpaper. It did look like Ken’s shorts.

                Dino directed me through the dated home to the kitchen. Sitting at the kitchen table was a tiny woman dressed to the nines on an eight dollar budget. Her rings and baubles were clearly costume jewelry, but she made obvious effort to look completely put together. A beautifully hand-stitched linen apron covered her polyester Goodwill dress. The entire kitchen smelled like peaches. Judging by the measuring cup, flour, and unfinished pie crust on the counter, Blowtorch Bobby had interrupted her baking.

                “Howdy, Ma’am. What’s your name?” I extended my hand to her.

                “I’m Greta,” she said with that lovely, old lady waver in her voice. Her handshake was more like a touching of fingertips. “When are you going to let me finish my pie?”

                “Very soon, Greta. My name is Sergeant Bensko. I just need to ask you a few simple questions.” I grabbed my notebook and pen and scribbled while she talked. “What happened tonight?”

                “Well. This guy comes up to my front door. Now, I don’t open the door after it gets dark. That’s just not safe. Edna said there was a blue Ford going up and down our block lately, and I just don’t take chances. So he comes to my door and says he had a jury duty summons letter for me. Well. I always take my civic duties very seriously. I peeked out the window and he looked all respectable in his suit. So I opened the door. He handed me that envelope.” Greta pointed at a legal sized envelope bagged as evidence sitting on her kitchen table. “Then he just barges into my house like he owns the place. He slammed the door behind him. I think he was high. He smelled like the weed,” she spat with contempt.

                I looked over at Dino. Dino nodded and said, “We did find a joint in his pocket, Boss.”

                “Okay, Greta. Go on with your story.”

                “So I was already in the middle of putting my pie together. And I didn’t appreciate him coming into my house like that. So I told him that I had business in the kitchen and he needed to leave. That’s when he pulled the gun from his pocket. I wasn’t scared. After 92 years, there’s nothing that boy could do to rattle me. So I just went into the kitchen. He followed me. So I grabbed a mason jar of my lemon curd and I whacked him right in the face with it. Just WHACK! Like that.” She made an awkward motion mimicking a pitcher throwing to first base. “And that glass just shattered everywhere. And then he fell down and didn’t move.”

                The coroner had already removed the body, but the giant bloodstain and glass shards in the middle of her kitchen floor seemed to match her story. I thanked her for her time and left her my card. “If you ever need any help, Greta, I want you to call me as soon as you can, okay?”

                The old lady smiled and said she would.

                I left Dino at the scene to finish up. 

                I looked up at the full moon and prayed there wouldn’t be a fifth call.

 

hiddenBeast

This cage

My design 

I'm willingly here

Only partly my protection 

From those out there

A refuge of sorts

But you mistake my exile

It's not to protect 

A soul from shattering again

It's to protect the outside 

From me

Heart, Less

I look at my heart

I cut off the bruised pieces

Until nothing's left

Registry

I bought the star

Named it

Loved it

Dedicated it to you

I was foolish for believing

It would burn out first

Returning

Hello old friend

I'm finally returning home to a 

Shell that feels 

Familiar

Welcomed by nothing

Don't forget to wipe your shoes

And leave your heart at the door

Emotion is not invited in

Keep this thing 

Cold and dead

Because any heat 

Was an illusion anyway 

Always

I love you painfully 

Madly 

With depth unfathomable 

I love you quietly

Loudly

With unending breath

I love you passionately 

Recklessly

With no logic

I love you endlessly

Eternally

Without condition

For

Always