“Do you like it?” she’d begged, words flying from the tip of her tongue. “Yes, yes. It’s beautiful” he responded, looking more at the diamonds on the necklace than the girl. “We’ll take it — is there a set of earrings that would compliment the style?” he said to the…

Today I find myself in a Brave New World of healthcare professionals that I’m bribing to actually give a sh#t. What worries me is the plethora people without financial ability or emotional support to get to this point. …

Blake looked out from his window and saw familiar sights: a long street filled with pre-war estates, mostly humble single-structure pre-fab cookie-cutter dwellings, filled as his was with Party members — living, raising, toiling for the purposes of the Party. He was growing accustomed to his nightly routine: his rationed…

Note: A true story, committed to paper a full 16 years after the fact. Excuse the lack of dialogue. The flame within was one of danger. Like Eve and Pandora’s husband, it was borne of tasting the forbidden fruit. She was a challenge worthy of a monster. …