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the Great Work

10Oct2017

The effluvium of piscine decay was the last scent I expected to encounter as I sat in my favorite coffee shop some five blocks off Salem’s antique waterfront. Initially, it presented as little more than a tickle at the back of my throat – a whiff of something I couldn’t quite identify, but which upset me nonetheless. I became distracted from my crossword without even realizing I’d lost my concentration. But the odor built in both intensity and pungency, until it reached a point at which I could identify it for what it was. It was then that I looked up and saw the thing in the doorway.

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1517

They Pay In Advance

20Apr2017

“Folks down on Murphy Street say the swamps are lit up already,” Mona said.

It was late and she was washing up after dinner while her Mama sat at the kitchen table. The heat and the humidity, like the foxfire, had come early this year, and they punished Mrs. Gardner awfully. Mona repeated some of the town gossip as a distraction. She heard her Mama sigh.

“Just like the year your father went away.”

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, 1576

Looking for Trouble

16Apr2017
“Whoa! That’s it momma! Shake ‘em!”

The young woman in the tight black turtleneck stopped short, her head swiveling as she sought the source of the comment, a ready comeback on her lips. But it was late; the park was empty. No playgroups, worn-out moms and sugar-fueled kids. No perverts with hidden cameras videoing awkward first dates. Not even a derelict, half-drunk on cheap wine, polluting a bench. That last in particular was unusual for the time of night. She shrugged with a little shiver, and started to walk more slowly onward.

“That’s the stuff! Come on. Take me home with ya!”

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