When Grandmother Gasse passed, Art got access to the trust account. The very next morning, he quit the radio station by calling his boss and suggesting he shove it. Dropping the phone, he tossed his head back, flung his arms high, and howled. The boy would devote himself to painting, hereafter, as he had dreamt […]

In the interest of being honest, I fucked someone else fifteen minutes before we met.  In the pay toilet at the Peace Park, room for only me, this guy, the squat toilet, the sign that said Gyōgi yoku shi nasai – Mind your manners.  He laughed at some half-formed joke I made and turned me […]

When she was born they cried, and they all knew they would. She came out crying too. This was normal enough; there was a baby in a hospital crying. She cried and looked skyward. Her mother, that is. Linda. A neck falls limp on its spine. She cried and didn’t know what it all meant. […]

Tell me why you are here. Because my parents sent me here. And why did they send you? To help me “handle the situation.” And the situation is. . . My brother. The death of your brother. Something like that, I said.   You seem uncomfortable. This chair’s okay. Uncomfortable with me. I thought you’d […]