A soccer ball sailed through the air, clattering onto the pavement right in front of a sleek, yellow Lamborghini idling on the street. Two young boys in dusty hoodies stood frozen in the middle of the road, their faces tight…
Fifteen years after our triplets were born, my husband suddenly said, “I’ve had doubts for a long time — let’s do a DNA test.” I laughed… until the moment the doctor placed the results on the table and said, “You’d…
A Sudden Trap Along The Fence Line The young bird’s left wing flapped frantically against the wet wooden post as a thin strand of baling twine pinned its leg tightly in place. A few inches directly above the struggling fledgling,…
The sweltering heat hung heavy over the Sinclair gas station as an elderly man stood hunched over his smoking, broken-down truck. He wiped his brow, clearly frustrated, while steam hissed from the radiator. A harsh confrontation begins — Two bikers,…
An Unwanted Gift in the Nursery An older man gripped the top rail of the light oak crib, his knuckles pressing white against the smooth wood. His wide eyes locked onto the couple standing in the nursery doorway. “You promised…
Two store managers moved to remove my eighty-two-year-old mother from a Main Street department store—until a young clerk found her name sewn inside the gown. “Mom, please, just tell me why we’re here.” She didn’t answer me. She just kept…
Trapped Against The Concrete Tiny claws scraped rapidly against the rough grey concrete, searching for a grip that was not there. A tiny baby raccoon stood upright on its hind legs along the narrow shoulder of a busy highway. Inches…
The Boarding Call An elderly man in scuffed boots stepped off the jet bridge and walked slowly down the center aisle of the aircraft. His brown jacket showed frayed stitching across the shoulders, and his worn denim pants were torn…
A Knock at the Glass Door An older man pushed against the glass entrance, his shoulders dusted with white flakes and his arms wrapped tightly around a scuffed leather case. He caught his breath under the entryway lights as the…
The Confrontation Begins A police officer points a gloved finger directly into the chest of an older man standing in the center of a wood-paneled courtroom. The officer’s chest heaves with each breath. His face is flushed, and his eyebrows…
A Tiny Runner on the Asphalt Four tiny hooves struck the pavement in rapid succession, kicking up small clouds of dust behind the rear bumper of a moving cargo truck. A snow-white calf galloped down the center of the road,…
I was born Naomi Marie Blackwood, became Naomi Canton when I married Nicholas in 1981, and remained Naomi Canton for more than four decades. I was sixty-eight years old when my husband died, and until that moment, I believed the…
