i'm obsessed with shorts. short. stories.
“where’re we going?” “south.” “we’re going south?” “In this wind, south by southwest.” “isn’t that a Hitchcock movie?” “naw. that’s North by Northwest.” “good to know. you like Hitchcock?” “love him.” “favourite movie?” “Vertigo.” “that one makes me dizzy.” “fear of heights?” “absolutely.” “don’t let go.”
there’s a hungry man waiting under the chicken-on-the-way sign. he’s got his eye on a 5-piece snack box, fries and coleslaw combo. there’s nothing finer than a hot greasy chicken on a summer day. there’s a hungry man waiting under the chicken-on-the-way sign. he’s got his eye on a 5-piece, nothing finer than a … Read more
at the National Gallery, beneath de Goya’s portrait of Dona Isabel de Porcel, i wait. an assignation with the property agent who’s charming my husband with her long, dark, curly hair and vibrant smile. “what do you think?” i ask Dona Isabel. “it doesn’t matter how many times i change my clothes, i still feel … Read more
i’m building a fort with leftover scrap wood my dad piled beside the carport. pieces of wood, strung with bits of bark, and plastic stapled into the gaps. it’s january and the snow is deep. i have to dig out my fort each day, add a few boards. the hammer is heavy in my hands, … Read more
it’s my 90th birthday and i’m taking myself out for a nice bowl of soup at the restaurant on Shuswap Avenue, the one with the sunscape painted on the wall. a mural is what they call it. they serve a nice borscht on Fridays. and the waitress, Shirley. what a woman. comely it what they … Read more
the airport has the weirdest carpets. i don’t know where you source a length of carpet with such big graphics. so abstract. the triangles, the edges and misshapen dots. the pattern is so big i cannot focus on it in it’s entirety. i fight the urge to lie down on the carpet of travellers, feel … Read more
Mitzi hated the breakfast shift at the hospital, staring into vats of lumpy oatmeal. and scrambled eggs, congealing, then crusting on the underside of the ladle. disgusting. she adjusted the net that kept her hair in place and hauled the metal vat of oatmeal onto a rolling cart. “Need a hand?” a male voice. a … Read more
there’s a hungry man waiting under the chicken-on-the-way sign. he’s got his eye on a 5-piece snack box, fries and coleslaw combo. there’s nothing finer than hot greasy chicken on a summer day. there’s a hungry man waiting under the chicken-on-the-way sign. he’s got his eye on a 5-piece snack box, nothing finer than a … Read more
i lie awake and think about the flood. it is happening all around me. helicopters flying all night long, checking the levels of the glenmore reservoir. dreaming, jumbled images of war. soldiers advancing across dark fields, animals floating down bloated rivers. there’s mud everywhere. i can feel the mud clinging to my bared feet. the … Read more
three strange days into the trek, Darla notices the skin on her palms is cracking and bleeding, peeling off in strips. her friend Amy grosses out and initially refuses to help her dress her wounds. when Amy hands her a piece of adhesive tape, she brushes up against Darla’s skin. “you’re burning up,” says Amy. … Read more