When I was twenty-nine I went through a phase of simplifying my life. I bought a robot vacuum, prepped meals in advance, and began cycling to work to save time at the gym. All friction had to go.
Eventually, so did Addie. But that’s okay. She was slowing me down.
Benjamin Rowley is an architect and writer currently based in Germany. This is his first published story, but you can find more at rowleysmiscellany.com.
Ratta tap tap tap. Ratta tap tap tap.
“John, that’s not centered.”
Ratta tap tap. Ratta tap tap.
“The tree needs to be perfectly in the center of the window. Planked by the lights and frosted glass.”
Ratta tap. Ratta tap.
“That’s still not centered… What will the neighbors think?”
Holly Jeffries is a southern city girl who spends the bulk of her time crunching some numbers. When she’s not working with an excel spreadsheet, she’s usually thinking up her next short story.
She wasted her life watching her figure. Slimming down and staying fit were her full time jobs, consuming her because she consumed nothing else. Nothing but beautiful, empty as the calories she avoided. A double zero personality in a double zero casket. Smiling, for in death she only gets thinner.
Chris Griglack was born and raised in Massachusetts where he has lived for 24 years. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2012 with a degree in Writing, Rhetoric, and Communications.