LAMONT GOODS. Food you love. Food for your family. The slogan had been etched on banners and billboards all around town for years. Lamont Goods was your basic, run of the mill grocery store. The prices were fair. The products were good. The employees ranged from charming, professional adults to teens that didn’t give a… Continue reading The Lizard of Lamont Goods
Category: May 2026
The Bathroom Game
He could see it in their eyes, the way they all looked at each other, the way they all blended in together, the way they all turned back to him and grinned almost on cue. John-John didn’t like those grins.
I AM THE RISE
1 Lydia Whitecliff keeps to herself in Unit 602. She’s my oldest resident. Silver haired, partial to crochet. Quiet. Not a troublesome tenant. A proud native to This City. It’s a shame how few of her kind remain. Ron Morris, Unit 211, is a lonely bachelor who lives only for his dog. A runty, three-legged… Continue reading I AM THE RISE
Sucker
I stood before the door to my apartment again, just staring at it. It had been months since I’d even considered looking through the little peephole, let alone opening the door and taking a walk outside. It wasn’t like I needed to leave after all; the world could come to me. Groceries could be delivered.… Continue reading Sucker
SCRATCH
The closet door was locked shut. For the first few hours, she kept expecting the door to open. Connolly Hall locked itself every night at ten. No one could remember when the rule had started. It was simply how things were done. Amy pounded the door with her fists and kicked at it the way… Continue reading SCRATCH
Good Luck, Mr. Flowers
He delivered the flowers a whole hour early. Patty N. hadn’t even finished pulling up the shades on the Juniper Street Market windows when his purple delivery truck pulled up to the curb, Mr. Flowers Florists emblazoned on the side. Even though Easter was days away, the air was crisp enough to need a coat,… Continue reading Good Luck, Mr. Flowers
The Doom That Blew Into Gnarlywood
The tumbleweed appeared out of nowhere. It had been a typical summer night in central Jersey, humid with the weariness of clouds trying to hold onto the rain a little longer. A flash of lightning later, and there it was. No rain, just a bramble of knotted twigs. It didn’t tumble as one might expect;… Continue reading The Doom That Blew Into Gnarlywood
The Conifers
(a villanelle) The conifers spoke to the deciduous treesDeep in the cool, ancient wood.“Wish,” they whispered, “they were a gentler species.” Honey locusts and maples nodded their leaves,Mulberries and oaks, as well, understood.The conifers spoke to the deciduous trees:“Shall nature stand by as they do as they please?”“We know,” wept the Willow sisters, both so… Continue reading The Conifers
Salt in the Wound
My mother died on a Wednesday night in February. I sat at the kitchen table, staring down at the pinpoints of salt dotted on the dark wood and pressed my hands down onto the granules, observing the particles that stuck versus the ones that simply made light impressions on my skin. The only sound I… Continue reading Salt in the Wound
Wechselbalg
The creature sitting across the table from me is wearing my brother’s face. It has a squat, childlike body, a sickly-sweet mask that attempts to beguile any who look upon it. I watch as it picks up the spoon, dips it into the bowl, brings it nearly empty to its lips, red and rubbery like… Continue reading Wechselbalg