Emily was a hostage. She could taste the stale air from heavy brocade draperies pulled shut to keep out the light; or perhaps to keep her in; she never knew which. They needn’t have bothered. The death rattle rumbling in her chest with every breath in and out guaranteed her submission and killed any hope… Continue Reading
Author Archives: Sidney Stark
Cold Feet- Christmas in Stowe
“I hate Christmas in New York.” My father muttered his message loud enough to be heard. My mother and I looked at each other, neither one of us able to pretend we were shocked by his Scrooge-like attitude. She winked at me. “No wonder,” she said, sympathetically. Even in the 1950’s, enjoyment of Christmas in… Continue Reading
Musical Muscle Memory
Ker-thump! Ker-thump! The same sound repeated over and over again with short breaks between percussions. The thump was loud enough to send a tremor through the floor. It reached out under the closed door to the music room, where Emily sat in the hall propped up with her legs sticking straight out in front of… Continue Reading
Hurricane Ginger
She always surprised. That first day I met her, she came up to me in the classroom, stood in front of me and said, “My name is Ginger.” I remember staring at her and mumbling, “It can’t be.” I thought ‘Ginger’ was what people named their cats, not their children. She was certainly new in… Continue Reading
Bring Up The Numbers
“In my office at 2,” he said, pointing a finger at her. “You too, Richard,” he nodded at her colleague who’d just stopped by her desk. “We need to discuss the Lenox deal.” He turned to leave, and then pausing without looking back added, “Bring up the numbers when you come.” She’d known her boss… Continue Reading
Perspective Retrospect
The porch off my bedroom in Vermont is two thousand feet above sea level. A canopy of peak autumnal leaf change lies below, much as I imagine the tropical jungle’s stretch of green spreads beneath a climber in the Amazon. From my vantage point on the porch, this lava tapestry, shaded and nuanced in hundreds… Continue Reading