Seven Books I'll Never Read_The Water Bearer_Wet paint and gold lettering_The Emperor's Lunc
Catalog Guide:
Seven Books I'll Never Read
There were seven books on the nightstand.We had packed up the rest of the bedroom. In the other room, I could hear my sister taping up the last of the cardboard boxes that would contain what we wanted to keep from our mother’s house. The house that we grew up in. The previous morning had featured a yard sale. We parted with the things that held no sentiment for us. This was more difficult than we thought it would be, because we were not raised to be emotional. Our mother grew up in a rural part of Pennsylvania. We never saw her cry or become upset. She had a steel persona that many saw as cold...
The Water Bearer
Steam rises from an iron kettle and begins to whistle. A man watches the water-vapor for several moments in a state of deep contemplation before dawning a protective mit to grab its handle. He pours the steaming water into a bluish cup. Outside it's dusty and hot, and the stillness of the air is torturous and stale. The man pushes open the creaky screen door letting loose a scraggly mutt. He follows it outside and the heat makes his face tingle like stepping into a sauna. The door slams shut against the darkness whewww.onedoor.ccre the man lives alone with his dog. The animal finds a shaded spot under a be...
Wet paint and gold lettering
Routine never fails to surprise. A peck on my soft cheek lays a wet parting gift as my mother trips out our brightly painted door. The sunshine yellow now starting to peel and twist into wrinkles at its edge, justifying our impulsive stroke of competence of suddenly knowing how to paint weathered hardware. A hand flies into the crack of the closing door as a last wave before escaping the jaws, snapping back into the doorframe. I stand once again in stillness, eyeing the two hands printed on the door face with craft paint signing our existence. My right hand still lingering with the sensation o...
The Emperor's Luncheon
In the land of Glasnaught there sits a palace carved from pink sapphires. One would be forgiven for never having heard of pink sapphires, as the only people who have ever heard of these pink sapphires are either those who have been exiled from Glasnaught, or those who been told about them from through word of the exile's mouths. Among the latter, a scant few merchants know of their beauty, and the impoverished populace know only of them through whispers and legends. The Aldebrant Empire, which reigns over the prosperous land of Glasnaught, is like a rich woman dressed in all white. She holds g...