#stranger

“Don’t let her fool you.” I tilted my head as I read my mother’s strange text. There was no context in a previous conversation or build up to warrant the strange cryptic message. I hadn’t texted my mother in a few hours and even then, it was to remind her to pick up dog food on her way home from church that night. “Who are we talking about?” I replied and waited… nothing.

I’ve been an avid hiker for well over 10 years now and an outdoorsy person for my whole life. Nature has always been a place that makes me feel free. My parents always encouraged me to explore and get my hands and feet dirty outside when I was growing up. Me and my brother were always known as the barefoot kids that walked around our neighborhood and through the woods that surrounded it. As an adult, I still enjoy the feeling of walking through nature (all be it with shoes now). I’ve hiked many…

I’m usually a ‘take things slow’ kind of girl, but there was something about her in the bar that night. I was sitting at a table in the back, watching my friends’ coats and purses while they were out on the dance floor. This was my usual role, and I suspected it was the only reason they still invited me out.

Jason watched the hands of the clock ticking. The hour hand was moving to nine o’clock. The hour he dreaded so much. His eyes darted around the room. In the corner his blue lava lamp cast fleeting shadows that resembled dogs, silhouettes and long-fingered hands, prancing and clawing up and down the bedroom walls and on the window curtains. He clutched his beloved teddy, Bubbles, very tightly.