I woke with a start. Napping. A luxury that I could not afford. I was about to lose my apartment. No job for weeks. No prospects. Just short stints here and there. Just like the rest of the world. Or at least like everybody in my world.

I went into the bathroom, and did my business. Then, I washed my face. Or at least splashed some cold water on my face. What was I going to do?

I trip...

“your soul,” the man offers deceitfully in a crackling low tone.

I hesitantly chuckle before realizing the offer wasn’t the joke I thought it was. Under the frantically flicking lights of the club, I fix my eyes at him.

“So you just need my ‘soul’ and you’ll buy me a drink?” I question him further, hoping this delusional man would buy me something I couldn’t afford.

A surprisingly w...

Sitting around at home alone with a beer didn’t seem like a way to spend a Friday night right?

I am out! Out and about! Grabbed all the money I had and joined the night scene. I think I have about 4 dollars in change. I’m really killing it with my job as a waiter.

I am at the bus stop near my apartment. On the floor. I guess I had more to drink than I thought. I should really get up but I just c...

The dogs were not barking, they were howling. Their howls pierced the night air not like a bat piercing the side of a piñata to unleash a candy cornucopia, but like a needle-pierced water balloon with so many holes you can’t stop it from spilling.

I stepped outside of my apartment and into the night’s black with a little less than $20 and no real plan. I usually didn’t mind the neighbor’s dogs, b...

It is the third year of the pandemic and it has been a rough year for Nolan. First he lost his parents to Covid, the deadly virus that has taken the world by storm. Then he was furloughed from his job in the service industry because the government has determined that his position was not “essential” in managing the pandemic. Lastly, the family grief and financial stress of this pandemic has put a ...

“Only a few euros and cents.” Said Emma, a hand into her pockets. “I won’t go far. But might as well enjoy it while it lasts.”

Nicolas shrugged. “As you wish. You know I don’t have anything left personally. So you’re in charge. We do whatever you want.”

“I want to go out.” She looks at him quizzically. “But I never said “we” would do anything.”

Nicolas smiled. “Like you could get rid of me that ea...

With only a handful of shillings left in my pocket, I take a stroll. What have I left to lose?

The sound of freshly shoed horses echos through the alleyways. I make my way to the pub downtown. I might as well pick up an ale with the last of my earnings. I enter the pub from a door in the back. Years of piracy lead to a keen sense remaining in the shadows. I make my way through the back of the bre...

Down Low tugged twice on his door to make sure it had latched. Then he pulled on it a third time. Nothing wrong with being extra cautious, especially in this neighborhood.

He stood at the top of the staircase down to the street. Fifteen steps. He could do it. He’d gone down every step every day for the past two months, three weeks, and six days. But it never got any easier on his leg.

Lowell —...

Denis places his last ten pence in the hungry slot. The claw aching to grab him a prize, him hungry to have not wasted his money. He takes a breath. Toggles the lever and hovers it above a small pink teddy bear. The claw plummets towards the teddy’s neck. It grabs and holds as it floats towards the prize door. The teddy slides out and Denis grabs it holding it in the air screaming with joy. A smal...

I leave the house

The night is still

Quiet as the mouse

On the windowsill

The stone cold wind

Gives me chills

As I creep out

Of the house

With the change

In my purse

The creepy night

Feels like a curse

The screech of the owl

Creatures complain

Coyotes howl

Vulnerable prey

October night

Still and scary

Stars the main light

The street lights blink

And I don't think

It's safe out here...

...