They froze when they realized the dust floating down, piling up all around, was ash from the city’s funeral pyres. “Don’t breathe,” someone commanded. Rather impractical advice for tired, bloodthirsty men. They tore Helen’s dresses into strips, wrapped their faces in the fine linen, and became featureless, rampaging, insatiable ghosts.

Over the years Bob Thurber’s work has received a long list of awards and prizes. His most recent book is a collection of brief stories titled “Nothing But Trouble”. Visit BobThurber.net.