में पोस्ट समकालीन

I pad around barefoot, taking in the familiar sights and sounds that have been the backdrop of so many memories. Happy, horrible, and everything between. The faded photographs on the refrigerator. The well-worn cookbooks lining the shelves. The framed wall art and table top trinkets. They all tell a story of love, resilience, and the enduring power of family. The rich, savory aroma of the budget feast I’m preparing envelops Gran’s kitchen. A testament to my Bajan-Yoruba mother’s resourcefulness. And my Italian father’s influence on her taste buds. Jug Jug…. अधिक पढ़ें

I take a deep breath as I pull into the hospital parking lot, my hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. The familiar sense of dread washes over me as I stare at the imposing modern building, looming before me like the Grinch who stole Christmas Eve. The thought of Gran’s recent health scare still sends a shiver down my spine. It’s been a few weeks since Theodore’s initial call. My world came to a standstill. When she had to be admitted this second time, it felt like the ground opened… अधिक पढ़ें

The tires of my beat-up Polo crunch over the gravel driveway as I pull up to the warm, inviting façade of the O’Connor home, my stomach churning with a mix of dread and exhaustion. Twinkling lights line the eaves and a massive wreath adorns the front door, filling me with a sense of weary resignation rather than holiday cheer. How can this place exude such warmth and life when my insides feel so hollowed out? I cut the engine, the sudden silence ringing in my ears. In the passenger seat,… अधिक पढ़ें

Forty-eight hours later couldn’t have come sooner. The orange-purple glow of the sun stains the sky, marking the impending end of another short winter day. The day before the day before Christmas. I’m curled up on the couch with Trixie’s head in my lap, halfheartedly watching Rise of the Guardians—her pick, not mine. The animated main character, Jack Frost, dons an easygoing grin. A complete and utter departure of the devastating scowl that belongs to the man in real life with the same last name. As much as I want… अधिक पढ़ें

The digital dashboard clock digits turn, mocking the passage of time. The radio jock’s cheery voice grates on my nerves as he chatters about the latest Christmas jam in their holiday playlist line up. It’s four days till Christmas but it feels anything but festive. I chance another glance at the passenger side, monitoring Trixie who’s been uncharacteristically quiet for most of the drive. Meanwhile I’m reeling. From the weekend. From what was decided during my absence. But I try my damnedest not to show it, focusing on the road… अधिक पढ़ें

Before I can get my bearings about me, Tilda appears again, her expression unreadable beneath the severe line of her tightly-pinned auburn hair. “I’ll escort you downstairs to your car,” she informs me. A clipped, professional tone that brooks no argument. Escort. The word lands like a slap, my throat constricting painfully even though I know she didn’t mean it in the way my mind automatically goes. All the same, I’m reminded with brutal clarity of my role here to the very end. A transaction. A service provided. For the… अधिक पढ़ें

I step into the shower stall, the sleek modern design exuding an air of luxury. My gaze shifts warily towards the wide showerhead, a conflicted feeling stirring within me. The last two days have been… I don’t even have the words. The showerhead seems to glare back at me, its numerous nozzles like eyes. Peering. Waiting. With a trembling hand, I turn the faucet, slowly, like I’m afraid it will come alive and snap at my fingers. The initial spurt announces itself in a harsh whisper, like it’s chiding me… अधिक पढ़ें

I wake up in what feels like a plush cloud, cocooned in a level of comfort that makes me want to stay nestled into the sheets forever. But while my bedding is a little slice of heaven, my body isn’t. At all. Holy sea biscuits… I feel like road kill. Twice run over. No. Like road kill shit. Splattered everywhere. And then warmed over. My shoulders let out a raging battlecry when I attempt to stretch. When I so much as stir. Hell, when I try to breathe. I’m unbelievably… अधिक पढ़ें

Ringing. Pulsing. The sounds fill my ears in a continuous, dizzying stream, like an explosion went off in my head. And body. I feel as if I’ve been blown into a million bits, yet somehow, as far as I can tell, I’m still in one piece. Barely. The sensation of hot semen coating my insides feels like an out of body experience, the implication—and intimacy—of its presence within my body overwhelming. Uncharted. Frightening. Sublime. It’s as if I’m floating above myself, watching this insane scene play out like a movie… अधिक पढ़ें