Dare To Taste

“Ewwww...what’s that sickening smell?”

“You wouldn’t want to know,” Jack insisted. “Can you walk faster?”

“Why?”

“You don’t want to be stopped by she who lives there,” pointed Jack.

It could’ve been dried autumn leaves rustling in the wind, but they didn’t want to take a chance by looking back. They scurried past her unkempt lawn, not noticing the silhouette of someone sitting on the front porch.

“You boys hungry? Stew’s almost ready,” a woman’s voice shrieked.

The friends pretended not to hear.

“Rumour has it that she had four husbands,” Jack murmured. “No one has seen even one.”

From Guest Contributor Krystyna Fedosejevs

First Step

My head rotates like the Earth around the sun, except at excessive speed.

It’s difficult to go outside, being afraid of germs and diseases, and wearing a mask does nothing to assure me. I went from going out when necessary to ordering what I need online. My therapist keeps saying I need to take it one day at a time, so today I’m taking my first step.

I place my hand on the front doorknob and breathe. It slowly creaks open.

As I walk onto my front porch, I remember what it’s like to feel the air against my face.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher