There are experiences and ideas that we have as children that are vivid and real. Some stick with us for a while before we shed them like dead skin cells. Others live within us dormant; lurking. In my neighborhood, every kid's parents warned us not to go …

Story is marked as mature

The mention of a hospital stabbed a spine-shaking spear of coldness through my middle. Gritting my teeth, I powered through the feeling. “No. Wait. I'm better now.”

Veronica had taken a step back from me, putting a little distance between us. Alfie, her …

Everything was wrong. I didn't want to be Thomas Tinsley. He looked like a dope. It took effort not to snatch the driver's license back and toss the whole wallet into the woods.

Into the woods.

That thought brought images, feelings, and sounds. Leaves, …

I reread the unfamiliar name slowly. “Thomas Tinsley.” Repeating it three more times, accenting it differently, trying to find a cadence that sounded familiar. It never did. The face next to the name looked even less so if that was possible. Tan-ish skin.…

Suddenly her simply standing there watching me made her suspect. Why was this girl trying to help me? Sure it had been her dog that had woke me up but there had been no reason to stick around after her apology. She had made sure I was okay. By all account…

Without altering his course, the man brushed by the human obstruction and with a negligible hand gesture sent him spiraling to the ground.

More hands reached out for him trying to take hold of anything they could. When they found something to hang on to…

The child babbled something in a language that the man didn't understand and ran off, calling out in a high pitched voice.

The man frowned. If he couldn't understand them, then his message was going to be wasted on these . . . people. Well, he had chosen…

The man appeared in a rectangle of shimmering purple light, a Door. Striding forward with confident purpose, he stepped over the twitching bodies of those who had been cut down when the Door had opened. His careful steps left a trail of bloody footprints …

Lloyd skated across an unnaturally still sky, the kind that looked and felt like twilight but you knew if you checked it would be nine pm or three am. Behind him followed a woman that wore many faces. He recognized some of them briefly, but knew that she …

"Why can't I remember the trip here? Never mind deciding to come here?"

"I don't know?" Her head snaps up. "I didn't drug you or anything, if that's what you're thinking!"

"No!" I have a sudden need to make sure she knows I don't think that. "I don'…

I closed my eyes, holding the image of his face in my mind. Breathing in deeply, I absorbed all the bittersweetness of the moment. Overwhelmed, tears began to leak out down my cheeks.

"Are you..crying?" I sensed him move closer to me to see my face.

My…

I joined my papa at the top of the hill. Intertwining my fingers, I stretched again, slowly pushing the sky away, reminding my muscles that they too must wake and ready themselves for work. The pleasant ache started in my upper arms and flowed both up and…

I remember that night vividly.

Do you?

I remember what you wore: a black t-shirt with a short denim skirt and a matching denim jacket that was covered with buttons of all your favorite bands. All ska and punk.

I remember how you smelled. It was exactly…

My eyes looked up from the photograph in my hand. It was of a picnic, the last place we were all together. I was standing in the park, looking at the exact location, a grassy spot beside the pond with the fountain under a tall oak that leaned a bit too fa…

The lights flashed red and I raced forward. Car horns and the screech of tires blared at me, scolding me. Careening towards the woman that stood opposite me on the crosswalk. She registered me with a look of surprise, then she smiled and spread her arms …

Devra picked up the completed Lego model of Big Ben. She had to be careful, the pieces weren't glued together--never that!--so putting pressure on the wrong point could lead to disaster. Looking at the minute, pixelated, shape of the iconic English monume…

I sit up, clutching at my chest. Christ, it hurts! The last thing I remember is... What is the last thing?

I was at the cabin. Gina and I were arguing. What did I do this time? Think, dammit!

She had a gun. She screamed and cried. I remember that much, …

"Are you," the oaf of a child paused for effect, "...in?"

Arlis shifted his weight. He eyed his would-be comrades, an assortment of boys he'd seen in the schoolhouse. Generally, he'd seen them in the back of the room, doing anything but pay attention. …