The doors had been pried open years ago, but they still complained when he slipped through, the wood rasping against warped hinges, a long, tired groan that seemed to travel the length of the ruined building. He paused just inside, listening. Nothing stirred. The air inside the library was colder than the night outside. It […]
She didn’t cry anymore. That was how she knew everything had gotten worse. There had been a time when she cried easily. Quick, hot tears and a lump in her throat that made her feel weak. Back when she thought there was still hope that things could change. Now, nothing came. No tears. Just quiet. […]
Ethan didn’t leave his wife all at once. It might have been easier if he had. If there had been a fight. If she had been angry., Something loud enough to justify the silence that came after. But there wasn’t. There was just a slow, quiet shifting. The kind you don’t notice until you’re already […]
2026 The house had three gables and the sagging posture of a woman who had survived something no one spoke about directly. A woman still standing, still trying, but tired. It stood at the edge of her hometown in Missouri, on a large lot where older trees leaned close as if guarding it. The white […]
⸻ At thirty-seven, she had long since learned how to assemble herself with careful precision. No hobbies, no interests other than men. She kept her small room dim even during the day. Heavy curtains kept the light out, turning afternoon into a permanent kind of dusk, and the air smelled faintly of powder and something […]
Seren Cross doesn’t believe in signs, angels, or second chances. But on the day of her grandmother’s funeral, a stranger delivers a message she can’t dismiss. She has one hundred days to get her life in order. No explanation. No proof. Only a folded piece of paper and a warning that refuses to loosen its […]
Written Winter of 2022 My Raconteur For you & For the love of good words…. You could tell me a tale that makes my heart open,You could sing a song that makes me forget what was broken.You could paint me a picture that breaks down its wall,You could write me a chapter that makes my […]
Renee River 