This is the opening section of a novel draft I have just completed. It’s a mix of horror and suspense. What scared me most as a kid were ordinary things I didn’t understand, and I spent a lot of time afraid—afraid of parents dying, being hit by hurricanes, becoming a victim of violent crime orContinue reading “Something Has Happened to You”
Author Archives: Gordon Laws
Her Gates Shall Lament and Mourn
Some Things We Know, and Some We Do Not
Reprinted with permission of Atlantic to Pacific magazine. cato is Dead; Long Live cato By Simon K. Pacy You could be forgiven for thinking that the post was a joke. After all, cato’s online intimates, if you can call anyone on the Internet an intimate, assumed it was. And post might be the wrong wordContinue reading “Some Things We Know, and Some We Do Not”
Do Your Part to Slow the Spread of It
Do your part: help slow the spread of it by washing your hands thoroughly. Use hot water, apply soap, and rub hands together vigorously while singing “Happy Birthday.” Rinse hands in hot water. Employees are required to wash hands as prescribed before returning to work. Disinfecting wipes that kill it are provided so that youContinue reading “Do Your Part to Slow the Spread of It”
The Car that Refuses to Get Away
Jeff stands quietly at the bottom of a stairwell. Adrenaline courses his through him, and he breathes deeply trying to remain calm. A dark-haired man in a black collared shirt stands next to him smoking a cigarette. “Any minute now,” the man whispers. “He’ll come right down those stairs. Don’t let his shoes touch bottomContinue reading “The Car that Refuses to Get Away”
Nothing Happened Here
This story is part of a series I’m doing on childhood dreams, nightmares, and distorted perceptions of reality. Some of the stories have autobiographical ties, but they are mostly fiction. And some of the stories reflect fiction I was writing at that age. It might help to consider all of them and how they allContinue reading “Nothing Happened Here”
Say Hi, Robert
They were back in Southern territory, and word was that the enemy was on the other side of these woods. It was spring, and the day had started cool but ended warm. Will was coated in sweat in the late afternoon when orders came to halt their march and set up camp for the night.Continue reading “Say Hi, Robert”
The Friendship Quilt
This is a deceptively simple fictional rendering of a story in my family history. It’s meant to be coupled with the “The Littlest Nurse,” and then for further perspectives, you can learn far more at my page on Sadie Bushman. You might wish to read the actual primary sources, as well. It’s worthwhile to thinkContinue reading “The Friendship Quilt”
The Littlest Nurse of Gettysburg
This is a deceptively simple fictional rendering of a story in my family history. It’s meant to be coupled with the “The Friendship Quilt,” and then for further perspectives, you can learn far more at my page on Sadie Bushman. You might wish to read the actual primary sources, as well. The Rebels came throughContinue reading “The Littlest Nurse of Gettysburg”
Murder Ward
The man’s son was dressed in his white shirt and tie and sitting at a desk in Paraguay; the man viewed him on screen through Facebook Messenger. His son coughed hard. “You sound sick,” said the man. “I’m not sick, Dad,” said Elder Laws. “I just went shopping, and they took my temperature and IContinue reading “Murder Ward”
His Smile Lit Up a Room and Other Things to Say at My Funeral 