As I sit and listen to the shadows travel across the mountains— I am reminded of a girl I once knew— her eyes like the cosmic trance of moon water— her hair like two crows dancing amongst the lilacs— her voice echoing beneath the valley of dreams and the rush of white water uncertainties— I wanted to reach out to her—to hold her close to my soul— but I was afraid—afraid of rejection—broken aspirations—uncertainties— But I was ...

Every morning at 3 o’clock Oscar walked to the market. He had been doing so for nearly twenty years. He and his wife often went together if she weren’t busy in the house and if her sister could take care of the children. But now he went alone, she having died many years ago when the jeepney she was in drove off the Pateng Bridge. Oscar was a spry 70 year old and very strong. His body did not agree with his age. He could hike up the mountains in Santa Clara faster than men half hi...

Every morning at 3 o’clock Oscar walked to the market. He had been doing so for nearly twenty years. He and his wife often went together if she weren’t busy in the house and if her sister could take care of the children. But now he went alone, she having died many years ago when the jeepney she was in drove over the Pateng Bridge. Oscar was a spry 70 year old and very strong. His body did not agree with his age. He could hike up the mountains in Santa Clara faster than men half h...

Billy never learned how to swim. He wasn’t afraid of the water. Simply, the river near his house in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, was too shallow in some places and too dangerous in others. But he enjoyed white water rafting and by wearing a life vest he didn’t have to worry about being the perfect swimmer. He could dog paddle and float like the rest of them. In the summer of 1985, shortly after Billy’s 17th birthday, he made his first trip to the beach. His friend Brian inv...

     I woke up in the dark and the dark was moving. I assumed I was in some kind of truck or van. I couldn’t see a thing. I was blind folded. The floor was cold and damp. My hands and legs were tied up in what felt like rope. I smelled gas. I had a headache.       The last thing I remember was walking through the front door of a dilapidated house. I was told that I would find my brother there.       The pain in the ...

      Ray sat in the front pew and stared at the coffin that held his friend. Or did it? The coffin was closed and Ray assumed his body was in there, but didn’t know where he was, Mike, the real Mike, the spiritual Mike. Problem was, Ray didn’t believe in the spiritual life. He didn’t believe in God. And he didn’t believe in heaven. Not anymore. The falling towers took that away from him. He believed in hell. He lived in hell for a day that see...

     I murdered my parents 8 years ago. Now I sit all alone in a 4X5 cell and write—and think. There’s not much else to do here. I’m 28 years old and my time is short. I need to share my story. I’ll be dead in 24 hours. The correction officers are looking at me like I’m already dead. They look at me as if I were a ghost.      It’s just me and the boys, a fraternity of murderers. The dues we pay: our lives.   &n...