Always Everywhere

She's haunting him everywhere he goes.

She's reflected in the mirror when the lights go black. She's in the storm clouds chasing him through the day. She's the hum of the air conditioner cranked ten degrees too cold. She's the wetness soaking through his clothes in the rain.

He doesn't mind. Ghosts lose the power to terrify when you're addicted to the jump scare. She promised him she'd never leave and if nothing else, knowing that she's true to her vow is enough for him to hold on to.

He never would have imagined himself living in a romantic fantasy.

The Broken Vow

Hank stared at his bloodied hands. Visions of a more peaceful time flashed through his mind, reminders of a life less troubled.

The voice forced such memories aside.

"You've done well."

Hank did not feel worthy of praise. Not after all the death he'd just meted out.

"Don't feel guilty. You did what you must."

The worst part, as far as he was concerned, was that he didn't feel guilty. He'd enjoyed it.

Hank looked at the others around the dinner table. Only his wife seemed to notice that he had broken his vow.

"I guess you're not vegan anymore."

The Beats

Gregory Corso was sitting in the window of Allen Ginsberg's East Village apartment – two, three hours, just sitting in silence. He had vowed to himself not to be a willing participant to any further chaos. Just to be every day, it took everything. You could be having a really nice time at the beach or the park one minute and in the next minute there could be cops with meaty red faces gassing and clubbing you. Once at a reading some lady asked him, “What’s an id?” and he waited a bit before answering, “Eighteenth-century sea captains carousing in Surinam.”

From Guest Contributor Howie Good

Howie is the author of The Titanic Sails at Dawn (Alien Buddha Press, 2019).

Surfing

He enviously watched the surfers ride the waves. Their sharp turns and steady footing made him feel shame at this own failed attempt on the water.

A small boy of no older than twelve maneuvered gracefully on a wave that would have had him running for the safety of the beach. A group of people enthusiastically cheered and clapped for the boy, who had a large grin on his face and pumped his fist in the air.

He watched this for a moment before angrily getting up from the sand and walking away vowing to get back on his board.

From Guest Contributor Zane Castillo

Rotten Teeth

Staring down at my bloody teeth, I vowed this would be the last I had this nightmare.

Dr. Lawson called them stress dreams and suggested I examine where my anxiety was coming from. Only I knew their true source. I wasn't going to share it with my therapist.

I tried washing my hands, but soap and water couldn't cure the corruption. My soul had turned, many years ago, and the only way to end its blight was to take my own life. Or to kill again.

Dr. Lawson was the next victim to pay the price for my own cowardice.

Happy Halloween

The Sound Of Duty

The silence wrapped around us tightly, even as we fought against it. There we tears, the quiet kind, and anguished expressions. More than one person collapsed to the ground.

I'd been through this before. We all had, so there was little to be gained with words.

We dropped our weapons and left them where they lay. Without any order, we gradually made our way back to the city. We refused to look each other in the eye.

The sacrifices were necessary. The welfare of our entire civilization depended on them. But we each vowed this would be the last time.

The Trousseau

Eleanor eyed the old trunk. Inside was the collection of presents and hand-me-downs her aunties had assembled for her trousseau. But three years into her marriage, she had never opened it before tonight.

The objects were mostly as she expected, recipes and trinkets meant to give her certain disposable comforts in her new household. But now she had need of one particular item packed away at the bottom: her grandmother's wand.

When she had married Stephen, she'd promised to give up witchcraft. But now that he had cheated on her, every one of her vows was going to be broken.