CW: Today’s story is a work of fiction which deals with intimate partner violence and its aftermath. It is also suggested that one character may be a sex worker. Please skip this piece if you need to. If you’re comfortable sharing it, pass it along. If you or someone you know has questions about, or…
Tag: relationships
Remnants from the Attic
It had to be a mistake. Ivo scrolled back up the page to give the listing another thorough look-over. It was titled Toystill in box, but Ivo knew it for what it really was. An original 1993 Megazord deluxe set. Hemicro-examined the grainy thumbnail, poring over every pixel of the pristine box. A globule offlashlight…
Mornings
Late to rest, early to rise, she gets bored and her old hips have got nothing to do. She carves a single notch on the baseboard each and every time she dreams of you. Thick-mattressed, four-posters are for lovers. She gave away your bed to the neighbors, and now their dog sleeps atop the covers….
Ways of Saying “And”
I tried to answer my first wifein truth(e)that, yes, she is selfishand that this is good:Less wear, Few wounds, No rind where ought be ‘life.’But she gnashed and wailed,her Protestant iceberg atremble,and I curled back my wordswith the bad faith of the midway lover. We’d matched tattoos—still do, I’d think:Black ink ampersands,near or on our hands.Hers: a…
Tears (The Pearl Collector 3)
“Take care. Goodbye.”The airline was cancelled. I was thinking as if the typhoon knew what I was hoping for: to delay his departure, as late as possible. I hate seeing people off because I hate goodbye. But now I always insist on seeing people off, because I have missed it once, and I don’t want…
The Pearl Collector #2: Follow Me!
He comes to visit me in Hong Kong, bringing with him two huge traveling bags. They are allfor me: winter clothes, books, and chocolates and even salted hams. I take him to Stanley. He takes pictures of me.He says he is tired and goes to bed early Follow Me! When dad got his driving license…
The Pearl Collector, Part 1: Tomorrow’s Soup
“What would you like to have for tomorrow’s soup?” Grandma would never get by a dinner without a pot of delicate soup. “Soup is the highlight of a meal. There is no decent dinner without soup!” She would spend a whole day preparing a soup that could live up to the title of “family food.”…
Are you Sincere? (Like the Wind #3)
1: The Incorrigible Writer Gavin: I’m told I need a hook at the beginning of my delivery to get the reader in. But, I don’t like fish nibbling my toes much. And readers that are hooked want to blame the whole journey on the fisherman. I much prefer to think of a reader as an…
Anti-LGBTQ Legislation Reaching Critical Mass
Another Year of Queer Rage, Thanks to Anti-LGBTQ Legislation Recently, I was chatting on Facebook with someone, and I called 2022 as my “year of queer rage.” Not surprising when 2022 was an epic year for anti-lgbtq legislation with 315 bills filed attacking the queer community. Thankfully, ninety one percent of these bills failed to…
Dear Daughter,
I am having difficulty sleeping these days. And yes, it is to do with the murder of a local KOL (Key Opinion Leader), Abby Choi, who was killed and dismembered by her ex-husband and his family: a gruesome crime that made its way to international news. With my superpower of association and stretch of imagination,…