Old Mrs. Grimwald spied on old Mrs. Bloom, toiling away in her yard: how arrogantly her sworn enemy preened her garden. Mrs. Grimwald “harrumphed” down the ladder; she’d be damned if Mrs. Bloom won Year’s Best Garden a fifth year in a row. This was Mrs. Grimwald’s year. And it would have been. See, Mrs. …
It had been a particularly bountiful crop season that year, for all the families. How that sun had shown on the golden grain. “We won’t go hungry this year,” Mama said. The locusts came soon after, turning daylight into darkness. I can still hear the flutter of their million wings, and feel the prick and …
They found Blue Boy. No matter where he hid, they always did, eventually. They beat him deeper hues of blue and walked away. But he got to his feet and said: “I’m beyond bullies, always will be.” Every day they beat him, and every day he stood and said, “I’m beyond bullies, always …
Greta never feared walking home. On her sunset strolls, she’d greet Amos, the burly homeless man, and give him five dollars. Then off she’d walk, alone. But tonight Greta runs. She stayed at work after hours, and now footsteps in the dark have caught up to her. Just as the masked man grabs her, Amos …