You try to trust your kids. You try to believe in them and let them make their own choices and hope that you’ve instilled in them enough morals and common sense to get by without you hovering over their shoulder. And then you get a call while you’re out on your first date in almost... Continue Reading →

Where my family comes from, arranged marriages are still very much the norm. It's really not what most people think when they hear "arranged marriage"; it's more like going on a blind date set up by people (usually your parents) who know you, love you, and have your best interests at heart with a very... Continue Reading →

Every year on December 12th, a new one would arrive. Always in the same bright Christmas wrapping, always unmarked, always left on our front porch. They started coming a year after my sister, Libby, disappeared. She was last seen walking home from the elementary school in her favorite bright purple jacket with the faux fur... Continue Reading →

I knew the way to Grandpa’s by heart. An hour up the highway, another on small country roads; when you start seeing signs for the Native American reservation off to the right and some for the nearest town on the left, you've got exactly twenty minutes left, and then it's just past the same three... Continue Reading →

When my mother told me that Catarina was coming to stay with us for a few days, I immediately started going through all the stages of grief. First, I tried to deny that it was going happen, to which Mom just replied that I'd have a say in house guests once I started paying half... Continue Reading →

I was a directionless kid when I got out of high school. Solidly average grades, never heavily involved with any particular extra curriculars, no lifelong dream driving me to a particular field. I was just drifting along, letting life's current take me wherever. I knew I needed a job after graduation, but my options were... Continue Reading →

It started with just an insect bite. Of course, for Max, it was never "just" anything. It was always a precursor to something much bigger, something that would surely be the death of him! So when he ran in and shoved his foot into my face, my first reaction after disgust was to roll my... Continue Reading →

You hear the uneven footsteps first. Drag Click Drag Click That's how you know she's behind you. The heel is broken off of her left shoe and she drags it across the ground with every step, a sharp contrast to the steady click of her still-intact pump. “Help me,” she whispers. It's an urgent, anguished... Continue Reading →