Short Works
Agape – Religious Nonfiction
I sometimes wonder what it would be like to see Jesus in the flesh. I read the gospels with envy. Those people saw the Son of God incarnate. They saw him put mud on the blind man’s eyes, saw him hold children, saw him walk on water. They could see the lines on his face. Some of them felt his rough hands. They heard his voice as he taught the words of his Father, when he rebuked the hypocritical religious leaders, when he told the lame man to walk. His disciples ate of the same bread and fish and smelled the perfume with which Mary anointed him. The Almighty had come to earth to dwell among men. Read more.
The Jensens – General Fiction
Mrs. Gellar is now yelling. I watch from my position by the table of books. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen her without her hair curled. She waves her arms, and her face grows red. The others in the yard are trying to politely ignore the scene, but we are all listening. “You have no respect for the dead!” Mrs. Gellar yells. “You have no respect for your wife, Jensen, and it sickens me!” Read more.
The Prodigal Daughter – YA Fiction
Teresa hated hospitals. They smelled funny. She could tell that people tried to make it welcoming, but for her, it didn’t work. She only liked going to the hospital if there were new babies. The Intensive Care Unit, however, was not the place she wanted to be. She walked towards her mom’s room, chewing on her lip. She reached room 203, and held her breath while walking in. Her mom lay unconscious in a hospital bed, tubes and wires coming out of her. A nurse stood by her. Read more.
The Death of the Sun – YA Fiction
It’s hard to believe it was so long ago. I sat in my car, parked at the lookout spot we used to come to. Beyond the cliff the city lights were spread out for a few miles. The silence was strange and yet comforting at the same time. I rolled down my window. There was a slight breeze, but the summer air was still warm. Tomorrow I would get in my car and drive to Portland. Tomorrow I would leave this small town, and everything in it, behind me. But tonight I was still here, still haunted by the things that had happened two years ago. Read more.
Melanie’s Secrets – YA Fiction
My sister and I used to be good friends. Halloween used to be our favorite holiday. One time, we got this idea to see how long we could stay out of the house before our parents noticed. I don’t remember if it was my idea or hers. It was a test. We wanted to see how much our parents cared about us. We walked to the park with our bags of candy and sat under the slide, trading and bartering. The night lingered on. Julie fell asleep first, candy wrappers around her in the sand. I don’t know how long I stayed up after her, and I don’t know how long we were asleep for, but my parents found us. My dad yelled in Spanish, and my mom cried the entire way home, and we were grounded for a month. This is the first Halloween we’ve gone without some embarrassing escort they both trust. Read more.
