After exiting the car, we began walking the trail adjacent to the resort. Jack Russell took the lead. "I was the product of one of his many affairs," Cassiopeia said, shoving her hands into her pockets. "We rarely discussed him, Mom and me. I knew I had a father but that was all I knew. …
Cassiopeia, Part 4.
I stopped short. My dog barked at her. Cassiopeia simply patted the side of her leg twice and Jack Russell ran over, licking her hands while she enthusiastically petted him. What a guard dog. "What are you doing here?" I asked, remaining where I stood. She studied me before glancing at the duffel bag in …
Cassiopeia, Part 3.
Later that afternoon, I sat on a bench in the dog park and dazedly watched my Golden Retriever, Jack Russell, playing and running about with some of the other dogs. Thoughts piled high in my mind, all stemming from lunch from earlier that day. Cassiopeia is aware of how you feel about her.How did she …
Cassiopeia, Part 1.
I discovered Greek mythology as an 11 year-old wandering around the stacks of my local library. One afternoon, I happened upon an illustrated book of Greek myths and was immediately struck by the photo of the frowning goddess on the book's cover. Naturally, I grabbed the book and set to reading, quickly devouring stories about …
The Hanging Tree, The End
Sitting deep in the woods, within a slight clearing, was the oak tree. Its trunk was massive and burly, with branches strong enough to bear the weight of the African American men, women, and children who met their final moments at its feet. Some of the white children, some of whom had been present during some …
The Hanging Tree, Part 5
Alice slipped on a pair of sunglasses when she walked outside the next morning due to the glare of the sun, but primarily to cover her swollen eyes. Following her short, succinct meeting with the superintendent, the desire to both scream and give up had culminated in a weeping session in the ladies’ room. (She drily noted …
The Hanging Tree, Part 4
“Would you date someone outside of your race?” Nadine Maxwell peered at Alice over her wineglass following the latter’s question. Having since reconciled over their disagreement earlier that week (being friends since grade school meant they couldn’t live with an impasse between them for too long), the two sat on the floor in Alice’s living …
The Hanging Tree, Part 3
Unfortunately for Alice, however, Henry Cooper wasn’t leaving her mind anytime soon. She thought so much about his admission that she found herself bursting into his classroom early Monday morning. Sitting at his desk, Henry looked up at her in surprise, his reading glasses nearly falling off in the process. He stood up. “Alice—” “Did you actually …
The Hanging Tree, Part 2
However, it was the elephant in the room, wasn’t it? Furthermore, Henry's admission had given birth to another elephant in the room: Henry Cooper, a White man, was in love with Alice Harper, a Black woman. As she gazed at her dark brown skin in the mirror later that night, that particular fact loomed larger …
The Hanging Tree, Part 1
Guess what? I'm sharing more short fiction with you, dear reader. I wrote this short story after my bestie saw the tree in question (you'll see further for context) and posed a simple idea to me: write a story about that tree. This was the result. I'll share in excerpts. Read on...(and this is something …
This Square Peg. 