Four hours he had made her practice! Four goddamn hours! Until she defiantly screamed out: “Papa! I don’t want to be a ballerina! I will never be one! Do you hear? Never!” Stomping her foot, she crossed her arms tightly across her chest and purposely took on a belligerent stance.

The room flooded with anger so palpable it almost smothered her with its intensity. Attempting to flee ahead of him, she lost as he caught her in mid-flight and began to shake and hit her.

Too ...

In the poverty-stricken neighborhood where the Gruener family lived, tuberculosis was a well-established part of life. But in the fall of 1918, something new visited their Frankfurt community that remained until 1920. It began as a fever and sore throat. Headaches, body aches, cough and nose bleeds were common. Doctors advised their patients to take up to 30 grams of aspirin per day. For some, this regime appeared to work as their symptoms improved. Days would pass before this mysterious manifestation re...

His approach to the bedroom window is stealthier than previous visits. Though unintended, he had killed. The local newspaper and media reports had put the community on edge. Respected and above suspicion, much was at stake during each intrusion, but a sexual fetish was the driving force. A branch snapped. Frozen in place, only heartbeats marked the passage of time. Finally feeling safe, he drew closer to her home. Huh! The lover’s car is parked in the drive. The light went out in the bedro...

Pins and Needles

Billy Talent

SHE WAS DEAD, THERE was nothing he could do about it, now; he had to accept it. But there was more. He had stumbled badly; he had come up short. He knew that he had unwittingly failed in what he had come to realize was the only worthwhile endeavor. Still, there must have been signs before she, they, were swallowed whole forever. In his self-made purgatory of grief and shame, he found no solace where once triumph and achievement reigne...