What He Meant

The coffee spill added a familiar sentiment to an otherwise simple postcard.

A Clarification

It is true, I was desperate. But I wanted to impress upon him that I was not quite as
desperate as I first appeared.

How Mother Asks If I’m Dating Anyone

After I catch her up on my life, she’ll say, So. Do you have any good news?

Growth

Every time I blowdry you say: Your hair’s gotten so long!

Colleagues

She couldn’t tell if they were jealous of her promotion or if they simply found her
unlikeable.

Retro

Despite her sharp haircut, she was partial to phrases like “cool beans.”

The Good Day

I braced hard but what I feared did not happen.
For that I am grateful.

Postscript

I lied. I do have more to say. Second letter to follow under separate cover.

~~

Siel Ju’s novel-in-stories, Cake Time, is the winner of the 2015 Red Hen Press Fiction Manuscript Award and will be published in Spring 2017. Siel is also the author of two poetry chapbooks and the recipient of residencies from The Anderson Center and Vermont Studio Center. Her stories and poems appear in ZYZZYVA, The Missouri Review (Poem of the Week), The Los Angeles Review, Denver Quarterly, and other places.  More of her work can be found at sielju.com