The stranger knocked upon the door,

A creaking, wooden throb,

And someone on the other side

Unlatched and turned the knob.

Uncertainty, a soft, "Hello,"

And, "May I use your phone?"

The person on the other side

Appeared to be alone.

An observation taken in,

No pictures on the wall.

He pointed somewhere down the way-

"Go on and make a call."

The thunder boomed; the stranger stalled

As wires were cut instead.

The gentleman began to sense

A subtle hint of dread.

A conversation thus ensued-

"So what has brought you out?

The rain has flooded everything,

And wiped away the drought.

Say, did you walk, or did you drive?

Why don't I take your coat?"

The stranger slowly moved his arms,

A sentimental gloat.

The water from the pouring skies

Enveloped cloth and shoe.

"Say, would you like a place to sleep?

I'll leave it up to you."

The person on the other side

Discarded his mistrust.

The stranger said his tire was flat,

And shed the muddy crust.

"The phone won't work," he also said.

"It could just be the storm.

Perhaps I will stay here tonight,

To keep me safe and warm."

The patron of the house agreed.

He hadn't seen the wire.

The chilly dampness prompted him

To quickly build a fire.

"You have a name? They call me Ed.

My wife was Verna Dean.

She passed away five years ago

And left me here as seen.

I guess it's really not so bad.

We never had a child.

I loved that Verna awful much,"

He said and sadly smiled.

"No property to divvy up.

The bank will get it all.

Say, do you want to try again

To go and make that call?"

The stranger grinned and left the flame

As to the phone he strode.

Within his pocket, knives and twine

In hiding seemed to goad.

A plan was formed- he'd kill the man;

Eviscerate him whole.

The twine would keep him firmly held;

The knife would steal his soul.

A lusty surge erupted hence;

A wicked bit of sin.

The stranger hadn't noticed yet

That someone else came in.

About the time a shadow fell,

He spun to meet a pan.

The room around him faded out

As eyes looked on a man.

A day or two it seemed had passed,

And when he woke all tied,

The stranger gazed upon old Ed

Who simply said, "You lied."

Reversing thoughts, the moment fled

And Ed said in a lean,

"No worries, stranger. None at all.

Hey, look, here's Verna Dean!"

He looked upon a wraith in rage;

It seemed his little lie

Combusted in a burning fit-

He didn't want to die.

So many victims in his life,

Some fifty bodies strewn.

And now he was the victim; now

The pain to him was known.

The stranger fought against the twine,

And noticed by his bed

The knife once in his pocket left

A trail of something red.

A bowl filled full of organs sat

As Verna poured some salt.

She exited with all of them.

"You know, this is your fault.

We demons wait for just the day

The guilty take the bait

And play with matches one last time-

I simply cannot wait

To taste the death within your flesh;

The venom in your gut.

So now you know the way they felt-

Hey, you've got quite a cut!"

The person on the other side

Removed his human skin-

Before his wife came back for more,

He offered with a grin:

"Say, stranger, is there anything

You'd like to say at all?"

I looked at all the blood and said,

"I'd like to make that call ... "

I experience them now only through the eyes and ears I’ve created. They’ve tried to abandon me, like everyone does eventually. But I still have them this way. I’m the stranger in the walls.

When I met Janice five years ago, she was plain and thus unprepared to be flattered, pursued, showered with gifts by a wealthy older man. The other waitresses at the diner tried to warn her. I heard that too.

“He’s handsome I guess, J, but he’s…There’s something not quite right. I mean…”

“Stop it Bev. He’s just shy, like me.”

“Really? Shy? He taped An Open Letter to the Friends of Janice Mcfain on the door to the downstairs pantry. Mike is pissed. He wants to know how he got back there.”

“Tell Mike to calm down. He’s the Assistant Night Manager, not my dad. And I think it’s sweet that he wants you guys to like him! You and Jenny were especially shitty when we went to AMC last Friday. Don’t think I didn’t see you refuse to share popcorn with us. Really?”

“I…I didn’t want to touch his hand, J! I can’t put my finger on it J, but something is wrong with him. I mean, he’s old and…and there’s something else. I just….Instead of getting mad at me, why not talk to Shell? Talk to Mike and Von too. Your ENTIRE group of friends is creeped out by him. He stops smiling when you look the other away. Did you know that? It’s weird!”

“You’re being a bitch, Bev.” Janice set her jaw and grabbed the grilled cheese on the counter, headed to the front. Beverly grabbed her wrist and the sandwich slipped halfway off the plate. Janice shoved it back in place and licked her fingers.

“Come on, J! Why are you taking this out on me? Listen, sweets, I’m telling you there’s a problem with him. I’m not a hater. I know he’s your…your first. But there’s no way you’re his, right? So, do you know anything about him? Was he marr…Shit. He’s here again.”

Beverly pointed her stubby red nails at me, dead ahead, in my favorite booth. It was my favorite because at ten in the morning the sun glinted off my thick blonde hair and gave me a gauzy, god-like halo. In the past three months, I’d sat in every booth in the place and knew from the reflection on the steel backsplash of the kitchen that this one was the best. Janice lifted her narrow set blue eyes and took in my charcoal suit, my spray tan, my wide smile just for her. She smiled and blushed right through her freckles. That’s when I knew I had her.

We married seven months later. She was three months pregnant with Charlie, queasy and green throughout the ceremony. I thought it was sexy how sick she was. When she puked after the cake, I held her hair back and kissed her ear. I tried to nibble her neck too, but she wasn’t having it.

I’m aware that people tend not to like me, so I worried about popping the question. Her parents were easy enough to deal with though.

I leaned in, hip to hip, pushing Barbara up against the formica countertop.

“You look so young,” I whispered into her ear. “You’ve really kept your figure.”

She laughed and rubbed up against my suit pants. I touched her sagging elbow skin, then her brittle orange hair. She took a swig of white wine and then lowered her eyes at me, trying for smoldering, but achieving cheap. Match win.

I wandered into the living room, clinking the ice cubes in my scotch.

“Hello Sir. How are you this evening?” He stared at the television, pretending not to hear me.

“I wanted, sir, to ask you a question if I may.” I remained standing. This wouldn’t take long and their couch had clearly never been vacuumed.

He turned to look at me, his distaste evident in the tilt of his bushy moustache. I sighed.

“Oh, I understand I’m not who you would have chosen for your little girl, but I can take care of her and elevate her a bit above…” I paused for effect. “Well, above all of this, I suppose.” I motioned with my glass to their shag carpet and peeling wallpaper.

He grunted and turned back to the TV, cranking the volume on Hunting Bigfoot.

And that’s game. I swigged the rest of my glass and walked out, swatting her mother in the ass as I passed through the kitchen.

By all accounts, I was supportive and loving throughout Janice’s pregnancy. When her little sister visited, I rubbed her increasingly fatter back and her swollen, unpolished toes, smiling all the while. I resisted my daily urge to cover her nose and mouth when she snored on the couch. Her bloated, drooling figure disgusted me, but she was mine.

Her shitty diner friends threw her a baby shower and didn’t invite me. That kind of thing really pisses me off so I stepped on her hand when she was on the floor of the nursery folding baby clothes. We both pretended it was an accident.

She eventually stopped talking to them, but it took some convincing.

“Janice, you should be home! That’s it. Period.”

“Calm down Charles. It was one night.”

“Do you really think you should be out at the dives pregnant? Is that what a good mommy-to-be ought to do?”

“Charles, I’m tired. Can we not do this? It was one night. I miss my friends.”

“The friends that encourage you to dance like a whale’s ass and then reopen the diner at three a.m. to raid the pantry bleary-eyed and laughing like a fucking idiot? Is that who you miss? Those friends?”

“How…how did you know we reopened the diner?”

“I know everything, Janice. I make it my business to know things. How’s your hand by the way?”

When Charlie was born, something changed. We were now a complete family. A world onto ourselves. And he was a funny clingy little monkey. He liked being with me, which was good. Really good actually. I found myself totally absorbed by him. I could watch him play with his toes for hours. It was a new feeling for me, fatherhood. It suited me.

But we had sex less, which sucked. I resorted to my old habits. I had many less than desirable methods of alleviating the resulting pressure, the heartbeat in my temples, the burning heat, all of which I hid from Janice. As far as she knew, I was still her darling, if a bit overbearing, husband. But then I caught Janice watching me closely with narrowed eyes when I had Charlie on my lap. Something had tweaked her.

“What?”

“Nothing. Charles, nothing.”

“The hell are you staring at?” My voice ragged, caught in my throat.

“Just….What were you doing last night?” She pulled at one chapped lip. I noticed her pinkie trembling.

I stood up then, fists balling at my side. Charlie slid expertly to the floor, thumb still stuck safely in his mouth and padded off to find his matchbox cars. At two, he was an old pro at ignoring our arguments.

“When? When did you wake up?”

“I just…I woke up on the couch. I don’t remember what time. And. Uh... And I went to check on Charlie and you…”

“And me what?” My voice was pitched low, but I was in a full rage now, shaking, my mind twisting through the various scenarios. What would she do? What did she see?

“Nothing, nothing.” She was beet red. Her still fat face (she still hadn’t lost that damn baby weight) was sweaty as usual. She had saved up all her courage for this moment and then blew it. Ha! Loser.

“You come at me with an accusation, you better have something to back it up, Janice!” I sneered at her, grabbed my new leather jacket off of the back of the kitchen chair and rolled out the front door with a big smile on my face. I love a good win.

Oh, I don’t want you to think I’m a dirtbag or anything. All she saw was me, swinging naked from the exposed beams in our bedroom. Creepy yes, I’ll own that. Incestual child-molester creepy, no.

When I got home from the bar that afternoon, three beers and two scotch and waters under my belt, the dreaded old hamburger smelling crew had descended. She had invited them into my restored nineteenth century home. Crowded in a circle on my taupe and lavender persian rug were seven white trash losers that I used to be able to name. It smelled like red wine and snot. In other words, it smelled like Janice had been crying.

“What the hell?” I stood hands on my hips in my kitchen. From there I was taller than everyone else in the sunken formal room. And better looking, as usual.

I couldn’t see her in the middle of all of the bodies, but I guessed that she was sitting on the far end, one cheek perched on the antique coffee table. Which, of course, she wasn’t allowed to do. The hairy Greek guy answered me instead of Janice.

“You’re not welcome here anymore, buddy,” he said. Then he took two steps forward as I descended into the living room. I faked a lunge and he skittered back on his heels, almost falling on his ass. Pathetic. I looked around and thought through my options. I could easily toss them all out and break a few arms in the process, but the dark-haired wench in the corner with the acne was already pulling out her cell to call the cops.

This little intervention could be a small blip brought on by a few recent events. Maybe that fight two weeks ago before the ballet when I tried to help her with her hair and I burned her ear with her curling iron? It was mostly an accident. Or maybe she was freaked by my erotic trapeze last night? We had a few other recent rows as well. Who could remember them all? Or it could turn into something really big. I was adverse to another prison term, so I decided to play along.

I stepped around the Greek, who had lost his nerve entirely and was looking at his toes like they might start a conversation with him at any minute. I found her cowering on the edge of the table (I knew it!) and grabbed her sweaty palms.

“Janice, love, what’s all this about?” Insert winning smile. Insert kneeling husband with the thick wavy hair. But this time her eyes did not go gooey at the sight of me. She pulled her hands back as if I had bitten her and stood, shakily, to her feet. She quickly turned, showing me the back of her lumpy neck and let herself be wrapped in tight by the arms of that flat faced waitress with the stubby nails. The woman’s beady eyes glared at me over Janice’s matted hair. Her mouth was pursed to look exactly like an asshole. I sighed. This was going to take some time.

I called to Charlie then and waited through the ensuing silence. The others stared at me, willing me to go. I laughed, actually amused. I’m used to people willing me gone, but in my own home? It was almost too much. But I did wish Charlie had come running. I’m not saying I grew a heart like the Grinch when Charlie was born. But I do want him around. I like his goofy face. I like the way he clings to the back of my leg when I shave in the morning. He doesn’t think I’m weird. At least not yet. She must have whisked him off somewhere to hide him from me. Payback is a bitch my dear.

The Greek followed me to the door. I wanted him to say something. I had a buck knife on me and it would feel good to let some blood pour (it’s been years!), but he just stood there, one hand on my new Cherrywood door. The one I had installed after I pulled Janice’s chair out from under her fat ass and chucked it at the door last year. He shut it in my face. That fucker. He’s got it coming too.

Watching from the tree line on Market Street, I saw the loser crew visit in shifts for two more days, but eventually they had to get back to their own horrible lives. Only one car kept coming as the weeks wore on. The old Nissan. The Greek’s car.

I ignored the service of process from her lawyer. Our lawyer actually. She doubled down with both a restraining order and a divorce decree requesting sole custody. So childish, Janice.

I used my key (too dumb to change the locks!) while they were at the grocery store probably buying pop tarts and chicken nuggets. Charlie was going to be obese by eight if I wasn’t there to tell her what to buy. I took nothing from the house. I plan on being back soon enough. But I did leave a lot of things. I left eyes and ears in every room. In every lamp, every outlet. These things are so cheap now. I must have installed fifty of them. Actually, I lost track!

I’m in every wall, in every conversation. I have an apartment downtown and the spare bedroom looks like Mission Control. I watch Charlie sorting shapes into that plastic block thing. It’s possible he’s stupid (being fifty percent Janice and all), but I don’t think so. Lately he’s been getting them all in except the crescent. That one is a bitch. I find myself clapping for him like I’m there. I wish I was actually.

Then three nights ago I saw Janice and Mike the Greek getting it on in my bed. That was unfortunate. For them at least. I was making plans to roll in (she STILL hasn’t changed the damn locks), but I hesitated for some reason and now I’m so glad I did. Because about an hour ago, I watched that Greek motherfucker hit Charlie! Yup, saw and heard it. He was banging away on Janice and Charlie started to cry. This hairy asshole gets up out of my Queen Anne bed, rolls down the hallway naked and opens the nursery. I’m watching as he lifts my son up by one arm and smacks his soft little cheek. I stood up from my monitors and started screaming, exactly matching the pitch of Charlie on the other end. I’ve hit my limit folks! It’s go time.

I’m done being the stranger in the walls. Charlie needs me. Oh, and I might scoop Janice up again. Makeup sex is so much fun…

a silhouette

delineate

clasping a bouquet

Angel's Trumpet

soft-hued

subdued

trumpeting

trickery

gentlemanly

foolishly

catchy

pink

fink

eccentric

accent

eldritch

enrich

simper

simmer

werewolf

shapeshifter

drifter

blood moon

bloodbath

globules of fulvous

puddle

trouble is a turn-on;

trouble is a thrill;

arousal

aromatic

problematic

starlight

static

five o'clock shadow

overshadow

breath

breadth

meaty lingerie underneath

hearth

mirth

zombie Bambi;

zombie faerie;

cinnabar caliber

amber ember

fiery

fiercely

wolf in sheep's clothing

devoting

sweet tea

sweet pea

ringlet

piglet

lust

must

rough

gruff

guffaw

gravelly

groan

tongue

writhe

breathe

lick

flick

taste

palate

plate

milk

silk

appetite

bite

transformation

transmutation

protuberant

prominent

vein

piercing

eyes

hungry

esurient

nutrient

fresh

flesh

nerve

mesh

collarbone

wishbone

breaking

cartilage

alike

breaking

bread

blood-red

lipstick

poignant

pigment

the night calls

paw crawl

moonlight

navigation

canine

instinct

incentive

incense

heartbeat

heartburn

vehemence

violence

vigor

trigger

sleeps on moss carpet

human-form is reborn

waked

naked

aroused

running wild with skulk;

running wild with deer;

bathing in the basking

relish

natural

nature

caretaker

grapevine

winemaker

adaptation

admiration

oh, stranger;

you made me stronger

oh, stranger;

you made me stand tall

through and through

all in all

you are my facsimile

you are my family

you are my fruition

fruit-bearing

intuition

(K.M.M.)

It was a gray day, but she waited nonetheless, counting aloud the lines on the sidewalk the same as she did every day. A gangly family of pigeons scuttled around her worn leather moccasins, as they always did, and she sat complacent and smiling on the same metal bench beneath the same dying oak tree. She was here every day at seven in the morning with nothing but the company of a cheap bag of birdseed, and I imagined she probably didn’t travel too far away at any given time.

I jogged this path religiously and always wondered if she’d noticed me as I’d noticed her. It seemed no one else who followed this trail paid any mind to her at all, but against the drab landscape of the city park, she stood out like a spotlight to me. Faded pink floral trousers and a tattered white Donald Duck tee were her mainstays, but today she wore a yellow crocheted beanie on her head, pulled all the way over her ears. Yesterday her hat was green, and I’ve even once seen it red with white stripes around the Christmas season. Her head was the only thing about her that ever changed.

Today I stopped. Today I said hello and gave her my name, but her expression didn’t budge. Her counting, however, ceased without a hitch as soon as I spoke. She continued to smile her nearly vacant smile and said, “Hello.  My name's Amanda.”

“Oh, yes. Thank you.” I wasn’t expecting a response, so, surprised, I could only reply in observation, “I see you here every day, ma’am.”

I can’t be certain why I decided to approach her. Perhaps it was curiosity, perhaps concern, but as I attempted to read what may or may not have been amusement at my disregard for well-mannered conversation on her face, I sure wished I’d taken the time to think of something thoughtful to say.

“I see you here every day, ma’am,” she replied, and the corners of her mouth rose towards her ears by only a hair. Yes, she was amused.

I didn’t have an intention of being rude, but I couldn’t help but study her. She sat silent, still gazing into the direction I’d come from, so it was easy to stare. Lines had formed in arcs where her mouth curved, as if she had been frozen into a grin for a lifetime. Crow’s feet tapered into soft, pale papery cheeks, and she was tiny, thin as a rail, smelling of peanut butter and mildew. She must have been at least eighty.

“M-may I sit for a moment with you,” I was hesitant for the split second before I asked, but I did so with a friendly nod of my own, and she answered, “May I sit for a moment with you?”

I made sure to seat myself close enough on the metal bench to feel amicable but not too close for comfort, and I attempted to carry on this seemingly one-sided conversation.

“So, are you from here - from Chicago?” She faithfully kept her sight locked on the tunnel I’d emerged from and repeated me once again, “So, are you from here - from Chicago?”

“Um, okay. Yeah, I am. Are you hungry? Would you like to get some breakfast together?” Somehow, her reply was easily predictable, “Um, okay. Yeah, I am. Are you hungry? Would you like to get some breakfast together?”

Obviously this woman was a little loose mentally, so I stood slowly and bent towards her, my palm open for hers. I thought I may as well take matters into my own hands.

“Yes, I am! I’m starving. There’s a little diner right around the -"

Before I could finish, she gripped tight to my wrist - wild, bloodshot eyes burned fervently into my own.  They danced with an ominous menace I'd never seen, and her smile was now wide and maniacal, filled with rotten brown teeth and reeking of decayed meat.

Her voice was different than before, something like a deep Creole accent shot from her putrid mouth as she continued to smirk, "Di'nt you Ma-Ma evuh tell you to don't talk to stranguhs, gal?  That how you get took!"

The "k"she cracked with her closing "took" annunciated a warning so vile that my head spun.  My heart stopped for just that moment, her cackle filled my air so thick I could not catch a breath.  I ripped my hand from her grasp, tripping backwards on my heels, and hit the pavement.  

Then I just ran. I ran away in the style of a campy horror movie victim, knowing I was doomed to something, somehow.  I couldn't hear her laughter as I fled back through the tunnel I'd entered by, but I didn't stop. I dug my feet into the concrete and pushed my knees into the light from the other side, racing for dear life.

But something wasn't right. My heart was screaming, and I couldn't breathe. A sharp stab tore through the back of my skull, and I couldn't help but wonder if I was having a stroke or something worse. My ribs cracked as if I'd never run a day in my life.  This didn't make sense.  I ran marathons on my goddamn period, for heaven's sake!

Heaving, I found the main road beyond the park's tunnel entrance. The little diner I wanted to bring her to sat with an inviting wooden bench out front, so I stumbled towards it for relief.

As I approached, the window caught a glimpse of her yellow beanie. She must have followed me somehow.  How the hell was she so fast?  

I twisted to catch her, aching left shoulder blade and crackling knees, heart still beating out of my head, but she was nowhere to be seen.  I must have imagined it.  

I collapsed onto the bench seat, slouching haggardly and dripping sweat, panting like a dog in heat.  It must have been the panic.  I couldn't understand what the hell about that old bag scared me so badly, but I'd never freaked out so hard in my life.

Suddenly, a faded floral pattern, pink roses and paisley came into focus as I sat nearly doubled over.  Wrinkled hands pocked in liver spots and mottled with bulging blue veins dangled between my thighs.  My thighs.  

I shot out of the bench and pulled myself to the diner window, searching for my reflection, but I couldn't find it.  What stood in that window was a wretched old witch wearing a Donald Duck tee and smirk straight from hell, mocking me.  A yellow beanie sat atop her head.  

I screamed for help, but no one heard.  I grabbed at passersby, but they took no notice of me.  I couldn't run any longer, I was too winded, so I just fell.  I knew I was sobbing, and I knew this was impossible, but touching my cheeks, there were no tears.  Only a smile that would not leave.  Only rotten teeth and the smell of my rank mouth penetrating my nostrils.

I had to get back to her.  She never left the park bench, and she was going to fix this.  I didn't know what was happening to me.  I didn't know if I was dreaming.  I didn't know who I even was, but this was not my body and those were not my fucking trousers.

The walk back to the park was a blur, probably faster than it felt, and my heart never had a chance to slow down.  The tunnel seemed a hundred miles long in my condition.  I was only twenty five, but I had become a corpse in waiting.

Finally, the bench was in view, but she was gone.  I was gone.  I wasn't even sure what I was expecting to find.  People everywhere, but no one that resembled me, and I was the only person here that was her.  No one heard me, no one saw me.  I was nothing.

Sitting on the bench was a bag of birdseed, so I joined it.  I waited for myself to return, to emerge from that tunnel at seven the next morning as I always did.  To find me sitting on this same old park bench, under this same dying oak tree.  I was here every morning, but I never came.  

********

It was a gray day, but she waited nonetheless, counting aloud the lines on the sidewalk the same as she did every day. A gangly family of pigeons scuttled around her worn leather moccasins, as they always did, and she sat complacent and smiling on the same metal bench beneath the same dying oak tree. She was here every day at seven in the morning with nothing but the company of a cheap bag of birdseed, and I imagined she probably didn’t travel too far away at any given time.

I don't know why, but I decided to say hello today, and I did.

"Hello, ma'am.  I'm Brady.  I see you here everyday, so I thought I should say hello."

She responded, "Hello, ma'am.  I'm Brady.  I see you here everyday, so I thought I should say hello."

Whirling, swirling, swiftly

       Madness stranger creeps in

       planting subliminal messages

       of insanity into my mind

       the voices, the voices

       mindless masked intruder

       digging graves of no meaning

       finger hooked into my wall

       in insane dots of fractured thought.

Whirling, swirling, swiftly

       Stranger absorbs me, takes me away

       caterwauling rhymes of madness

       ebony rocks striking my face

       unpredictable fire - sweet and sour

       elevator erupting up but never stopping

       dressing me with mad sparkled wreaths

       blinks of delusion smite my eyes

       spinning, spinning out of control.

Whirling, swirling, swiftly

       nonsense words scar my festering soul

       moonlight falls out of loveless sky

       collapsing into sunken eyes of mine.

       dried up barren well, I lick my lips

       feeling nothing, locked in darkness

       heartbeat freezes, I don’t breathe

       craziness prevails as I sigh softly

       we are not so different after all.

Whirling, Swirling, Swiftly

       Insanity is earth, twisted and fractured

       marigolds marching, invading, closing ranks

       madness is genius, kicking and screaming

       bones jabbed with pain, without release

       cemented feeling encasing my blackness

       obsessed with death, don’t know where I am.

       blooms of craziness hurled by stranger

       infiltration of fogginess, flowing madness

       mind wanderer lost in struggle evermore

       out, out damned spot, blood on my hands.

As Science woke up, she yawned. Stretching, her arm hit a vase and it fell, smashing on the ground. She swore under her breath as she stared at the ashes. Hearing the sound, her mother came into the room.

"Is everything all right?" she asked.

"I accidentally knocked over one of my vases. Now this poor person is all over my floor," Science explained, "It's all your fault. You had to name me Science and doom me to a life of getting dead body donations."

This was an argument they had often and her mother didn't feel like having it again, so she silently left the room. Science sighed and looked around at all her vases. She didn't even know where she would have space to put the next one that arrived. Too young (and grossed out) to know how to productively study a body, Science always sent them to get cremated. Not knowing how else to honor them, they were in vases in her room. After cleaning up, Science did what she did every day -studied the human body with countless books and internet searches. She was determined to one day make good use of the bodies.

Eventually a break was needed, so Science took a walk to the park. She sat on a bench and felt sorry for herself. She still felt bad about the broken vase from that morning. Somebody came and sat next to her. A stranger approached her. He seemed around her age, so she wasn't frightened.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Something about the boy made her want to tell all her secrets. Being named Science, the body donations, the vase breaking this morning -she told him everything. Then she made a few more complaints about her name before quieting down.

"You think your name is weird?" the boy asked, "My parents named me GOD."

"They did not!"

"Oh yes they did," he said, pulling out his driver's license, "They're atheists and thought it would be funny."

"Oh my God!"

"Yes my child?" he said and they both laughed.

"I guess that name would suck too," Science admitted.

"No, it's fun. You just have to take advantage of it. I'm sure you could have a lot of fun with the name Science too. For example, if that was my name, I would never do my science homework. You ARE science -isn't that enough? And those bodies you get -sell them to real scientists. You could make a nice profit."

She laughed, "I never thought of doing those things."

Science's friend Amanda walked over.

"Hey, Amanda, I want you to meet my new friend, God."

"Getting religious these days? Is somebody named Science even allowed to believe in God?"

"Not like that. This is God," she turned her head, "Show her your driver's-"

Science cut herself off. She didn't see God anywhere anymore.

"He was right here," Science told her.

"Are you sure you didn't just make him up to comfort yourself?"

God silently chuckled to himself behind some bushes. Hiding suddenly was one of his favorite ways to mess with people. He loved his name. In life, you have to take advantage of the things granted to you. In death, you might as well donate your body to Science.

He sits at a table, a steaming cup of coffee at his wrist, the newspaper flipped to the business section. It’s easy to imagine he’s checking the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, and he looks so serious, so fraught with concern, I almost call out to him. But then again, what do I know about stock exchanges?

I stand at the counter, mixing up a batch of pancake batter. I add some vanilla, not bothering to measure it out; I memorized the recipe years ago, and the motions are second-nature. As I pour the batter, I glance over at him, hoping the alluring scent will tempt him. But I know it won’t; it never does. It’s always a cup of coffee and the business section. No eggs. No sausage or bacon. Just coffee, and the paper for company.

His face is familiar—brown eyes nearly hidden beneath drawn brows, sharp cheekbones, and the very slightest of underbites. His fingers tap impatiently against the wood, waiting for the coffee to cool. After a moment, he raises the cup to his lips.

“Shit!” He mutters the curse, but I hear it, because I expect it. He always tries to take that first sip too soon and ends up with a scalded tongue. The corner of my mouth quirks, and I shake my head. He never learns.

I finish flipping pancakes and pop them on readied plates, then gather butter, jelly, and syrup. As I pass by and begin setting the breakfast plates down, I wait, hoping against hope he’ll acknowledge me. He just flips the next page of the newspaper and takes another sip from his cup.

I should leave him alone, I know, but I can’t help it—I break the silence.

“Anything interesting?”

He glances up, brows raised, surprised by my sudden presence. Then, with a shake of his head, his face clears, all emotion erased like chalk from a blackboard. He folds the paper and stands.

“Nope. Same old, same old.”

“Oh.” I nod, as if I understand what he means by that. The sound of footsteps clattering down the hall draws my attention. By the time I look back, he’s grabbed his keys and is headed for the door. Now—desperate—I do call out.

“Have a good day! I love you!”

He doesn’t respond and barely bothers to glance over his shoulder. Tears prick my eyes, and I swallow, trying to force my heart back into my chest. As our three children race into the kitchen and devour their food, I watch my husband of twenty years walk out the door.

I woke up next to someone new

    Anxiety inside me grew

Who is this man in bed with me?

    Where did we meet, who could it be?

I shook my head to clear the fog

    Tried to dispel hangover bog

What had happened late last night?

    Possibilities gave me fright

Another eve of drugs and wine

    Now I lay here in a bind

Ensnared in sheets and coverlets

    Drowning in morning regrets

I stare down at a stranger's face

    Trying to recall his embrace

I sit up slowly, aching head

    Carefully slip out of bed

He stirs and mumbles in his sleep

    His beauty makes me want to weep

Try as I might, his name won't come

    For all I know he's just some bum

I light up my last cigarette

    Wondering just how we met

Oh where did I end up last night?

    Nothing seems to shed the light

I cross the room back to the bed

    I gently sit down near his head

I softly brush a lock of hair

    Out of his eyes and then I stare

He looks a bit familiar

    I wonder just how close we are

I feel like there is something more

   Than strangers dancing on the floor

I crush my smoke out in a tray

    I try to make my mind replay

The memories seem close to me

    But just not close enough to see

I jump when he begins to wake

    Opens his eyes, I double take

He smiles and touches my hair

    "Good morning, love, my lady fair."

Finally it all comes back

    My memory is no longer black

He is no stranger after all

    We were married late last fall

I have a haunting brain disease

    Sometimes I lose my memories.

Please come in, my little friend,

Take off your coat before we begin.

Relax, take a deep breath, we'll be her awhile-

Oh my! princess, what a precious smile.

I have quite a bit of time to kill,

My plans, I hope, will be such a thrill.

Let's jump right in with your darkest fears,

You know, the ones that leave you in tears?

Oh, too much, my dear? Then what about dreams?

Of kings and queens and guillotines.

Or when you're falling and falling, screaming with no sound-

I love that one! Have you dared to hit the ground?

I'm also fond of the one when your teeth fall out- 

Big ol' chunks of chompers- that's gonna leave a puckery pout!

Let's not forget the one when you're at school

Without so much as a stitch; your lithe nakedness exposed by a ghoul.

Do you dread public speaking? Now that's a bitch!

The cruelest of tortures, spawned by some wretched witch.

Picture your audience in their undies, perhaps pray for lightning,

Any way you slice it, tell me it's not bloody frightening.

So now that we're in it, love, and it's sticky and thick,

I want you to tell me just what makes you tick.

You've stayed rather quiet, pet, which is just as I feared,

So say something, Goddamnit! or I'll garrote you ear to ear!

Now I've gone and done it, I've scared you, my love.

But I just need to be part of you, like wings on a dove.

You see, I know you well, sweetheart, I have and always will;

I'm that shadow in the night, the itch you dare not scratch,

      in the heat I'm the sudden chill.

I do hope you're comfortable, my child, for I've planned your extended stay.

As I said before- I've plenty of time to kill- but you'll not be allowed to stray.

Oh, did I happen to mention, my sweet, this just happens to be my birthday!

Though she felt the weight of her gaze, Lilith ignored her. Poor attempts to get her attention - cough, cough. What a pest this woman was. She supposed that cough was a hint. Impending danger did nothing to quell the petty annoyance swelling within her.

Shifting the papers before her, her hands disrupted the pool of smoke that had spilled from the glass piece and onto the desk. Lilith had the ritual and charm practiced, but still, she was nervous. She took a sip of liquor from the muddy-colored glass beside her.

She lifted the pipe again, and Lucille could no longer refrain, rising from her chair,

“Lilith, if you do not extinguish that now...”

“Big talk from a woman who needs protection from her own mother.”

Lilith was wry, but her taunt did nothing to lighten the air, which was heavy with smoke and fear.

Lucille’s expression, having previously held prim - darkened, “I told you, that thing, whatever it is -- it is no longer my mother. Whatever I spoke to, whatever monster sitting behind those eyes, it was a stranger. Something has consumed her.”

She stepped before Lilith at the desk, her tone low and clipped, “I assume you know what a blow it is to my pride, coming to you with this...problem.” She eyed Lilith - continuing, “Considering my previously held opinions on the validity of your...talents, I am grateful for your help.” She swatted at a fresh plume of smoke from Lilith, who nodded - drawing again from the pipe.

“But - given the potential danger of this encounter - wouldn’t some lucidity be advantageous?” She raised her eyebrows at Lilith, who now held an indulgence per hand. The stranger had been tracking Lucille for days now, and the frailty of her composure was apparent, even in her condescension.

    “I am lucid.”

Lilith felt no obligation to explain her methods to someone who had - until yesterday, decried her as a fraud. Only her severe pragmatism had brought Lucille here, and only by the end of her own rope.

Lucille opened her mouth to argue, but was interrupted by a scratching at the door. Lilith leapt to her feet. Liquid bravado and all, she felt ice crawl up her spine.

There was a shrill muttering at the door then, feverish and unnatural.

“Lucilleeeeee.”

Lilith’s stomach twisted violently. She looked to Lucille, whose face was bloodless. Lilith lifted her hands, which had clutched the wooden ledge of the desk with such vigor that her knuckles were white.

“Lucilleeeeee.”

They locked eyes then, and Lilith tightened the leather strap at her waist. They both stepped to the door, and the stranger behind door grew silent at their approach. Lucille's hand hovered above the handle, and she looked to Lilith, who nodded.

They did their best to ignore the low cackle that broke the silence.

“Open the door.”