He felt short. An endless procession of tall sturdy frames with mostly blonde domes and cerulean eyes passed as he made his way down Norre Voldgade. It was cold but not unbearable. College in Wisconsin had taught him how cruel winter could be. It was March, which meant the clouds…

When my mom was a flight attendant in the late seventies, she worked for a carrier called Cathay Pacific based in Hong Kong. On one of her flights, she came across an elderly Chinese woman trying to pry open the emergency door. “What are you doing?” my mom asked. “I’m…

Motorcycle Diaries Part Two — I sit huddled over a table for three when the idea first comes to me. I try — I want to let the thought pass as a friend shares stories over wine and greasy starters. The idea takes hold, refusing to loosen its grip on my all too impressionable spirit…

Before I Let Go — Years ago, a friend texted me a short list of unethical acts a supposed “bestie” would commit should the fate of a friend become precarious. It captured the quiet torture aspiring screenwriters bestow upon unsuspecting victims. The list read as follows: 5. Lie for you. 4. Steal for you. 3…

Seeing the World on Two Wheels — My alarm clock blares at 5:05 am. I peel off my comforter and rise to my feet. I nearly forget it’s my birthday before my right knee screams under the weight of my body. Youth is fleeting and unfortunately so is cartilage. I am forty-one years old today. There are…

“My brother will be here at a quarter to 11:00,” she says. “I’ll be downstairs at 10:45 sharp,” I assure her. In a few short hours, the seventh floor of this Bucharest flat will be empty. …

Three missed calls, two texts, and an email. You joke a search party will be next before realizing with her it’s actually a possibility. Your mom — the woman who gave you life, taught you right from wrong, whose heart you’ve broken more times than you can count is worried. …

A can of dip sat in the cup holder, for how long was as uncertain as when the man started chewing in the first place. …

Fiction Friday — Ifinish the last of my udon as a waiter drops off my bill. I’m seated high on a stool staring through the window of a popular ramen spot in Little Tokyo — Los Angeles. Late night shoppers stream in and out of the supermarket five flights below as teenagers sporting…