By the time the announcement crackled over the loudspeaker, Ivy’s fingers were as numb as the tips of her marshmallow tongs. “Attention, vendors,” came the voice of Mr. Geller, the Winter Market organizer. “Due to worsening conditions, all roads in and out of the fairgrounds are closed until morning. Please remain on-site and stay safe. […]
By the time Claire admitted defeat, she was standing on the third rung of an aluminum ladder, holding what looked less like a string of lights and more like a glittering python that had given up on life. “Okay,” she muttered to the strand. “How are you more tangled now than you were in the […]
The first time the snow globe tried to escape, it was almost poetic. Lena had been dusting half-heartedly, balancing on the back of her couch in socks that were definitely not OSHA-approved, when the base of the globe slipped from her fingers. She watched it fall in slow motion, heart leaping into her throat. It […]
After a spectacularly awkward break-up, Julie hadn’t expected to spend her Tuesday evening sandwiched between her grandmother’s old friends, clutching a pair of size eight needles and a ball of soft lavender yarn. Yet here she was, sitting at the Pine Street Community Center, unsure whether she’d come for the knitting or just for a […]
Ella balanced the tiny kitten carrier on her hip as she pushed open the door to her apartment. The little gray tabby inside shivered and mewed, wide eyes peeking through the mesh. “You are going to be just fine,” Ella murmured, setting the carrier gently on her kitchen floor. She had said it a so […]
Martha had been serving cocoa at the Riverbend Ice Sculpture Festival longer than some of the sculptures lasted intact. Every year, she’d watch artists carve magic out of frozen blocks, and every year, she set up her little stand at the edge of the plaza, filling the air with chocolate and spice. This year, she […]
The old wooden sled felt strange in Patricia’s hands after so many years. Twelve years, where had the time gone. She shouldn’t have come to Larkin Hill. The sledding spot sat just outside town, far from her parents’ inn where she was supposed to be helping with the holiday rush. But nostalgia had pulled her […]
For the past three weeks, the river walk had been Maya’s only anchor. After the shock of being laid off, her world had shrunk to the four walls of her small apartment and the endless, discouraging scroll of online job boards. But every morning, just as the sun began to warm the deep blue of […]
For as long as it could remember, its world had been a small, elegant box that was always in motion. It was a world of polished brass and warm, yellow-veined marble, of soft lights that were never turned off, and mirrors that showed a dozen different versions of its own still, green self. The plant, […]
The sky looked exactly how Leo felt inside: bruised purple and churning with a decision it couldn’t make. From his bedroom window, he watched the heavy clouds roll across the lake, swallowing the late afternoon sun. On his desk, two letters lay side by side, their crisp white edges practically glowing in the strange, stormy […]