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The Ongoing Story of Confictura
Sketch № 14: Shadows on the Horizon

Sketch № 14: Shadows on the Horizon

The O’Connor house, practically the oldest structure still standing in little Applewood, Connecticut, has been through enough renovation…
Go to the profile of Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Sketch № 13: Fresh Paint and Bandaged Bones

Sketch № 13: Fresh Paint and Bandaged Bones

Just about two weeks had gone by since Mrs. Creaverton was visited by the ghost of her late husband when we all finally got…
Go to the profile of Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Sketch № 12: A Ghostly Visit

Sketch № 12: A Ghostly Visit

Reading or watching a good ghost story, I’ve found, allows us a safe way to occasionally open that creaky, warped door to the crawlspace…
Go to the profile of Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Sketch № 11: The Flickering Lamps

Sketch № 11: The Flickering Lamps

Last Tuesday — one day after Mrs. C, Roscoe, Violet, and I vowed to call on the citizens of Applewood to come together and save a gasping…
Go to the profile of Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Sketch № 10: A Cold Café’s Call to Action

Sketch № 10: A Cold Café’s Call to Action

When there are too few customers inside the Café Confictura, the air changes. What were cool breezes of relief rolling off the Housatonic…
Go to the profile of Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Sketch № 9: Catching Up Over Coffee (A Recap of Sketches 1–8)

Sketch № 9: Catching Up Over Coffee (A Recap of Sketches 1–8)

A recap of the strange happenings in Applewood and Café Confictura so far, along with links to the first eight Sketches of the story.
Go to the profile of Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Sketch № 8: The Eyes of Applewood

Sketch № 8: The Eyes of Applewood

For anyone in Applewood who may be following this blog, please know that rumors of Mrs. Creaverton’s arrest have been greatly exaggerated…
Go to the profile of Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Sketch № 7: The Spiral Rocks

Sketch № 7: The Spiral Rocks

One minute before the mainshock of a mysterious 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Applewood, Connecticut, seven weeks ago, family SUVs and…
Go to the profile of Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Sketch № 6: Cheesecake and Thunder

Sketch № 6: Cheesecake and Thunder

Given that Pastor Sweeney blamed the Quake on certain people who frequent Café Confictura, and blamed the place itself for offering them…
Go to the profile of Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Sketch № 5: Inside the Glass Church

Sketch № 5: Inside the Glass Church

There are two main churches in little Applewood, Connecticut: Pastor Beauregard Sweeney runs Our Lord of the Ascension, and Father Jack…
Go to the profile of Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Sketch № 4: Round Table Salon and Saviors

Sketch № 4: Round Table Salon and Saviors

One year ago this week, an article appeared in The Applewood Timber that began:
Go to the profile of Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Sketch № 3: A New Recipe

Sketch № 3: A New Recipe

Whether Violet had imagined Nessie’s plot to kill Mrs. Creaverton via poisoned key lime pie or it was true we might never know, but…
Go to the profile of Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Sketch № 2: The Poisoned Pie

Sketch № 2: The Poisoned Pie

At six a.m. last Tuesday, April 10, under a rainstorm that flooded the town’s corroded gutters and bubbled over broken streets, I knocked…
Go to the profile of Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Sketch № 1: Café Open on Darkened Street

Sketch № 1: Café Open on Darkened Street

In the broken heart of Applewood, Connecticut, the café is bright, even at this late hour. The last reporter just left, their van chugging…
Go to the profile of Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
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