Speaking Kiwi

The day doesn’t start with my alarm, or with my required bowl of cereal. It didn’t start with the shower or the scramble to grab my stuff. My day starts as I stand at the doors of the lift and wonder for the hundredth time why one is always broken. And it’s not even the […]

Relationships

He said, “It’s like this teacup.” I didn’t bother to point out it was, in fact, a coffee cup. That used to have hot chocolate in it. “Eventually, it’s going to have so many cracks, it’s unusable.” I rotated it back round, looking for that last drop. “Yeah, but I’m the one who smashed it.” […]

Missed Connection

He held out his fist for a bump. I didn’t leave him hanging. He wished me a good break. I reciprocated. There was a bus ride, a flight of stairs; it took until I was cleaning the dishes for my stomach to want to rip itself out. He asked her to talk about her feelings. […]

Letters for Shyness

Year 1999, it’s kindergarten and they’re learning the shapes of the alphabet. Each day they use a different medium to create the letters. Today is toothpicks and she figured out that you need at least three toothpicks to make a capital A if you don’t break one stick. The class is turning into an arts […]

Lingering Influences

“You’re mom, is such a trooper,” my dad sighed. “She practically was a single parent,” he laughed as he looked around the dinner table, trying to catch the eye of one of his kids. Max, the oldest, nodded slightly and gave him a half smile. “You were there too, dad.” “Not like your mom.” Dad […]