The hope that the October breeze might disperse Anna’s sadness brought her and her husband to Aphrodite’s Rock, birthplace of the goddess. According to legend, if you manage to swim around the more remote formation, you will look forever young. The currents, however, make it a spot notorious for drowning. But, as with every morning… Read more Kipris

“The horsie’s back!” My youngest son sat up in his futon next to mine. “My Ao’s back. I think I’ve heard his hoof-beats.” A couple of years ago, our horse was taken into Japan’s imperial army. Along with many others, he went through training before being sent to mainland China—that was all we had been… Read more Return of a War Horse

“Back home in time, please!” her mother called as Little Red Curly Hair closed the door behind her. She walked along the avenue with large, energetic strides. In the sparse lantern light, the densely leaved trees were like curious giants that watched the girl with the curly red hair passing by. Where is she going?… Read more Little Red Curly Hair

Daigo lived in Japan in a time before cities and industry and technology. He was not a king, but a descendant of one and a distant cousin of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess. He was a rare demi-god on Earth, so placed there due to his enormous size—being ten times larger than any other god or… Read more Daigo Pulls an Island

Rats! Cindy could hear them scurrying into the shadows as the rising sun lit the room, showing the extent of the chaos. The after-ball party had finally ended; stepmother and the girls had roused Cindy to get the place cleaned up, and had staggered off to bed. Hours later she was still scrubbing when she… Read more Rats! A Fairy Tale Ending

What’s the difference between shadows and darkness? Darkness gathers, it rises only at night, it consumes all it touches and still wants more. Things live in the darkness. Shadows follow and are always present, shadows stray from the light but do not fear it. Night has come and you rest. I wait as you drift… Read more Shadow

The wind rustled with the strength of a hurricane through her feathers, but she barely felt it. Her keen eyes scoured the pine forest below. Even with her otherworldly eyesight she could barely make out the dirt path through the thick trees. She slowly flapped her wings, searching for the right breeze. Her breasts swayed,… Read more Jersey

There once was a house in which lived a man and three daughters; Greta, Elsie, and young Mary. The father loved his daughters, but he was poor and desperate, and so when Mr Reynard came calling – so rich, so handsome, so mysterious – who was he to refuse? Naturally the fine gentleman’s eye should… Read more Bold Mary

Quitting the public road, the knight made for the castle. He walked toward the west wall, hoping the lime trees lining the moat would screen him from sentinels. The spring day was chill and drear, with dark clouds shrouding the midday sun and winds whipping the blue-green water. He stopped atop a low mound. As… Read more The Moat

Far away at the edge of the world, beyond the Golden City and the tangle of train tracks, at the very point where the earth met the sky, there lived a girl who was frightened of sleep. Each night as the sun set, her heart began to race.  She closed the curtains and locked the… Read more Starlings