Before the fall of the towers and after Cobain drew first, I lived a good life. Didn’t know it at the time, but I suppose we rarely do. I used to care about things like art, my career, my art career, myself in general, but not these days. I sat naked under the covers watching…
I tried having a girlfriend only a couple of times in my life. Once in my early twenties and the other in high school. When Michael started dating Lisa, I felt the need to checkmate the situation, so I began dating her best friend who was the head-cheerleader. Take that. It didn’t last. I wanted…
I awoke the next morning with Gabriel curled up beside me and a fat cat licking my face. The rising sun shone through the window as I threw open the curtains and stretched out my arms with a hearty yawn. Gabriel moaned and pulled the covers up over his head, smiling when I pulled them…
I arrived home before the sun went down and poured myself a glass of wine. Irritated that Gabriel wasn’t back yet, I paced the hardwood floors and stomped up the stairs to his room. This would be the first time I snooped through his things. It wouldn’t be the last. I headed straight for the…
I awoke late Tuesday morning with that stupid jingle still stuck in my head. Well into my first cup of coffee, those dancing robed men played on repeat. Gabriel left a note on the table letting me know he went on to school, don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I stared at the piece of paper…
The evil in this world is boundless. I’ve worked for it, catered to it, got rich off it, covered for it, and replicated it. I’ve rubbed elbows with some of the same men who used to rent me out as a child – art dealers, politicians, CEO’s – but they see me as one of…
Techno music blared from my stereo in the corner of the room, repetitive and hypnotic, keeping me on track as I sat surrounded by spray cans. After changing into my painting clothes, an old pair of jeans and a white tee-shirt, I grabbed Michael’s dreads and spread them out on the floor in front of…
They came for me in my sleep. Unannounced and uninvited, the robed men gathered around my lifeless body and clapped their hands until Gabriel appeared and knelt down beside me. I felt his hand apply pressure to my chest and then check my wrist for a pulse before declaring me dead at 3:07am. I tried…
The cold shoulder doesn’t fly with me. I’d rather someone yell and throw a punch than give me the silent treatment. It drives me up the wall and incites my inner asshole to force confrontation. I have a sharp tongue when I’m angry, cruel and merciless, but Gabriel was an extremely sensitive boy, and I…
Visiting hours were over and Gabriel had officially been in a coma for twenty-four hours, though it seemed so much longer. I sat bedside in the hospital room and tried to ignore the passing of time, fully aware that the longer he remained in a coma, the less chance he had of coming out of…
“We’re there when you need us just clap your hands…” I jerked myself awake. The early morning sun peeked through the window until I stood from the cot and drew the curtains closed. I was in no mood for the sun today. Feeling more rested than I had over the past three days, I brushed…
Gabriel never believed in Santa Claus. It wasn’t anything that I said or did, although the nuns at the boy’s home made it perfectly clear to me that God was the only being who knew if I’d been naughty or nice, besides the nuns of course. Even as a five-year-old child, Gabriel questioned the official…
March and April were the best months to make the drive out to the Texas hill country. Wildflowers blossomed with shades of red, yellow, blue and purple as bluebonnets and Indian paint brushes covered the rolling mounds and meadows. Parents all across the state held to tradition and had their children’s pictures taken in a…
Under different circumstances I would have welcomed the change of pace. Despite my aversion to dim-witted acid casualties and aging rebels without a clue, I enjoyed my visits to Billy’s place. The fresh country air cleansed my lungs as the surrounding forest reactivated my love of nature, but not even the peaceful serenity of small-town…
The Apple and the birdcage 