The Night of the Argument Not all arguments are debates. Some of them are the shape of something truer underneath. Alex || Jamie || Tension || Real Feelings We had our first real fight on a Thursday in February, which was three weeks before state. The fight was ostensibly about the second rebuttal — specifically … Read more
The Forest Beyond the Shore Nobody moved after seeing the figures between the trees. The storm still raged above the island, rain crashing through the dark forest while waves slammed violently against the cliffs behind them. Cold wind tore across the shoreline carrying the smell of wet earth, saltwater, and something rotten drifting from deeper … Read more
Priya and Zara Watching someone you love be loved is one of the most complex and beautiful feelings a person can have. Priya || Zara || Love || Friendship Priya introduced me to Zara on a Saturday in late January, at a brunch that Priya had organized with the specific logistical thoroughness she brought to … Read more
The Shore Where Nobody Waited Nora Vale screamed the second the hand tightened around her ankle beneath the water. The grip felt impossibly cold. Not freezing like ocean water. Dead cold. God. The pale face beneath the flooded deck smiled wider while black water rippled around its skin. Its eyes remained fully open underwater, completely … Read more
January Something about January — it’s the month that knows it’s a beginning, and isn’t embarrassed about it. January || New Year || Alex || Change January had a quality I hadn’t experienced in previous Januarys, which was the quality of a beginning that was actually a beginning rather than a continuation of what came … Read more
Don’t Let It Touch You Nobody moved for one frozen second after the creature started climbing the staircase. Then Selene Cross screamed. The sound shattered whatever shock still trapped the group, and suddenly everyone lurched backward at once while the thing below them climbed higher through the darkness. Fast. Far too fast. Its limbs struck … Read more
Abuela Elena’s Story When someone older tells you about a love they lost, they are telling you not to lose yours. Elena || Catalina || History | Love The full story of Catalina Fuentes came out on a January evening, when Dad was at the restaurant and Abuela Elena and I were in the living … Read more
The Island in the Fog Nobody inside Cabin 12 slept after that. Not even for a second. The hours crawled forward painfully while the ferry groaned through endless black water beneath the storm. Every sound felt dangerous now — the creaking pipes, the rattling walls, the footsteps that occasionally echoed somewhere in the dark hallways … Read more
I Tell Jamie Some things you can only say to the person they’re about. The courage required for that specific truth is its own category. Jamie || Coming Out || Honesty || Heart Itold Jamie on January third, which was the first Thursday of the new year, the first library session after the break. I … Read more
December 26th The morning after a true thing is the most ordinary morning you will ever have. It is also the most extraordinary. After || Morning || Relief || Alex Iwoke up on December 26th to the smell of coffee and the particular grey of a Portland winter morning and the immediate, total awareness of … Read more
