Nonfiction

Daria Anghel

There is an old Consul writing machine on the desk beside my laptop. Behind them, the silence of the green garden outside the window washes over me in a gentle wave. The silver pine tree that we used to decorate, the few times we visited for Christmas. The wisteria blooms already gone for the year, with its thick crown of leaves. The willow, that is now three times the size it had when I was little.

When I sat down, it took less than a second before I felt ready to write, […]

Nancy Chapple

My rented Vespa took me up and down Sardinia’s hilly roads, too narrow and tree-lined for vistas to open up before me. Had I fallen off my scooter, the sharp edges of the craggy rocks alongside the road could have gashed my legs.
Yet I alone decided when to start my day, which roads to take, where to stop for a picnic. Any time I leaned into a curve, or sped up on a straight stretch, the decision lay in my hands.
The peak summer season, when Italian families and groups of friends […]

Wendy K. Mages

George had stopped eating. Looking at him, it was hard to tell how thin he’d become. His white long-haired coat scattered with calico markings concealed how much weight he’d lost. Still, it was obvious he hadn’t touched the food in his dish. I was worried.

George was born feral, an abandoned, but magnificent, kitten. I remember wearing him like a fur stole on my shoulder, when I begged my mother to let us adopt him. We already had two cats, an older Siamese and a formerly-stray black […]