The power cuts out. Ma lights some candles off the gas ring and slams chips into the oven. I’m so disappointed the nurse outfit I got for my birthday split its sides, I’ve been wearing the hat for a week.
A little boy is blowing bubbles. They whorl and drift and swirl and he reaches his arm into the air to catch one. Pop! His blonde sister giggles and shoots some more, while an elderly lady staggers up, hand on hip to watch.
What is Love? Do we need it? Want it? Deserve it? Don’t expect to find the answers in the four tiny love stories below. They’re just here for your enjoyment! This special issue collects work published as part of our “Valentine” feature.
At first they felt zippy and free, his bird-night summer e-mails. One e-mail would say just a few warm words, trail off, be gone it seemed— but then, surprise!
We’re numb from bed heat. Rippled skin from storm-torn sheets, with the scent of animal, rut stained. We’re ship-wrecked. Shot foxes with hollowed out faces. Ferrets slithering from the burrow.