When Drea’s mother called to ask if she could take her to see Jerry, Drea clenched her fists without realizing it and dropped the phone.
“What happened?” Drea’s mother asked.
“Nothing,” Drea said loudly as she squatted to pick up the phone. She sat down hard on the floor and tried to breathe slowly, in for four and out for six, as her therapist had suggested she do when triggered.
Continue reading “Seeing Jerry by Susan R. Weinstein”
“The journey of life is like a man riding a bicycle. We know he got on the bicycle and started to move. We know that at some point he will stop and get off. We know that if he stops moving and does not get off, he will fall off.” — William Golding
Queens, New York 1953
“Hop on,” the familiar voice coaxed with a slick, avuncular oiliness. “I’ll take you home.” Olga recognized the soft, confident tones with just a hint of adolescent huskiness. Big Dan was her brother’s older friend who would come around every now and then to work on their bicycles in the backyard. “Your brother said it’s okay.”
Olga glanced up from the schoolyard garden plot where she had been gathering wildflowers, pressed a golden buttercup under her chin, and smiled timidly at the hulking teenaged figure towering over her, blocking the afternoon sunlight. She assembled the feathery bouquet of cosmos and ranunculus into a tidy bundle and obediently sprang up on Big Dan’s sturdy bicycle with her spindly five-year-old’s legs, shyly settling herself on the crossbar.
Continue reading ” In Tandem by E. C. Traganas”
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