flash nonfiction

Every time I come to the forest, it’s different, but so am I.

The land here is scarred and wrinkled.

I run with a pack of older boys from our neighborhood, the only girl.

Through the dusty window in my parent’s bedroom, I watched the neighbor’s cattle graze.

The new octopus at the children’s aquarium was named Athena, and as we waited for her to emerge, I thought of the almost-too-faint second line on the pregnancy test three days before.

Could someone hating you really cause a physical unease? Sure, why not.

With great reluctance, I agree to meet a cousin for an outside lunch…

At twenty, the world is yours because you’re beautiful. But never acknowledge your beauty, or it makes you a bitch.

Kate Winslet always reminded me of my mom. Maybe that’s why, even to this day, I get defensive of Rose from Titanic when people call her stupid or shallow…