You’d thought nothing could overpower the smell of cattle on a warm, wet night, when the scent of money imbued the still air for miles around the feedlot. But something had spooked the herd. Lowing echoed as hooves thundered away from the southeast corner, bringing a peculiar, fruity scent along with them.
As I passed through a night dark farm, the door of a wood shed near the farmhouse rattled from the inside. A voice from within yelled, "Let me out! Let me OUT!" I stopped at the door, hand on the cold iron latch, but didn't open it. "Who's in there?" Something heavy slumped against the … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Guard Against
A twinkling deep in the desert brought me to a choice. One that appeared as one light from a distance, but separated into three as I drew near. Beneath the star-splashed night sky, a lone figure stood. Cloaked in black. A bird's face for a mask. Bone, etched with secrets and mystery. A trio of … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – No Choice At All
From my angle, arms wrapped around several tree trunks as if holding on for dear life. Just arms, it seemed. Their bodies hidden or gone. I stood in the middle of a forest wrapped in arms, hyperventilating. Because I could feel a pull, a tug, a call to join. And when I walked around to … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Tree Huggers
On the outskirts of a forgotten town, I found a person with a white sheet draped over them. The sheet covered their entire body. They stood in front of a burnt out building on the side of a gravel drive. Just stood there. All day. No one else came or went. And I sat on … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Lent Shape
The white glow of a small ornate lantern pushed back the darkness surrounding us like a tiny star. My guide crouched on a rock beside a still pool, holding a common stick with the ring of the lantern hooked on the end. Below, the reflection of the light glowed just as bright, a twin star. … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – The Taste of Copper
In the very last car of a subway train, I heard a squeak, as of skin sliding against glass. I glanced around the empty car from my seat somewhere in the middle, where I waited for takeoff. The noise came again, from the back door. Getting up to investigate, I wondered if someone was trying … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Opening the Box
I had the rain to thank for my recent growth. Days and days of cool moisture, seeping through the roof and the walls. Water stains spreading outward the way I spread my fuzzy gray-green tendrils along the ceiling corner I called home. Not ready to send my spores spiraling throughout the house. My children to … Continue reading Natural Growth – A Halloween Special
Old boards creaked beneath my boots as I meandered across a rotting footbridge. In the entrenchment it crossed lay the mere memory of running water in the layer of mud at the bottom. Leaf loam littered the ground beneath wide-spaced trees. I had my gaze upward, regarding the rustling branches above, when a hand grasped … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – The Toll
Question marks surrounded me. Big, pale, spray painted on every trunk as far as I could see. Glowing in the gloom beneath the spreading branches of enormous pines. All facing me, like the disapproving gaze of a fussy uncle. Just a moment ago, the forest had appeared as any other cluster of trees. Embarrassment overtook … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – A Punctuated Demand
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