Tell Me.
There was a storytelling code of solidarity—you did not sabotage someone else’s narration if it was satisfying to the audience, or you could expect one of your stories to be … Continue reading
What We Deserve
He is a terror. He keeps kicking the trash cans that are on hinges, so they screech and rock forward and back. His mother has been trying to pray a … Continue reading
Split Scenes
The teenage girl wears a tshirt that reads: “Love My Smile,” but she isn’t smiling. She stands next to an ad for shoes where none of the models are smiling. … Continue reading
Groove, Death, Italians
“Groove is in the Heart” is on the radio and the Italian tourists are certain that we’re all going to die. For me, the pace and aggressive passing of Croatian … Continue reading
Writing on the Beach
Writing is the only activity which makes me feel “only I could produce this.” Whether or not “this” is any use is of course the crucial question to which I … Continue reading
Follow The Turtle
I’d lost track of how many bridges I’d crossed, which was not my first mistake, but one among many. I thought I had been retracing my steps, but must have … Continue reading
And Are You Happy (As You Wait)?
Sometimes your heart’s desire hung from the highest branch of the highest tree and you could never climb high enough to reach it. Or else you just waited patiently and … Continue reading
Consolation
I love that if you’re writing in a notebook in public, everyone thinks you might be a spy. A spy of sorts, I suppose, but not a very glamorous one, … Continue reading
Manners
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
On the busy road, a taxi driver slows, inspiring a concerto of honking horns behind him. A red soccer ball rolls into…
There There
He is the man with dark, well-slicked hair and a perfectly pressed dress shirt–imposing even in the shuttle to the airplane. He helps a little old lady move her suitcase … Continue reading
In and Out of Love
All this time you are doing important things like falling in and out of love–things which broaden and deepen and strengthen the character more surely than anything else. I can … Continue reading
Tourists and Toy Cars
The metro screeches. People wearing headphones are only posing, as almost nothing can be heard, especially when the train arches around corners. A mother and her four-year-old son sit side-by-side … Continue reading
Hustle Up
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
And when you die will it have mattered a damn whether you ever lived or not? -W. Somerset Maugham. Christmas Holiday. Chain…
Carried on the Wind
They wait at the crosswalk outside of the Echt Günstig, a pair of twenty-something women in t-shirts and skinny jeans. The woman with the very dark, very curly hair watches … Continue reading
Sisters.
As they come down the isle of the airplane, it can be assessed that they are likely sisters, both about five feet tall, one with black hair the other lighter. … Continue reading
To Pass the Time
Originally posted on The Nice Thing About Strangers:
Among the many reasons I like Croatian bus drivers is that they will carry on conversations with you knowing full well you…
A Light Change
Her daughter is in the back, buckled into a car seat, but facing forward and in the middle. The baby girl holds a blanket and rubs her fingers against the … Continue reading
Hoşçakal to Life as You Know It.
You’ve thrown away your chance for a normal life…This is what makes you such an exceptional person. -Orhan Pamuk. Snow.
The Company You Keep
It’s a good time for the lonely. Wear a Bluetooth headset at the market, and you may speak to yourself with impunity while hunting for just the right melon. Your … Continue reading
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
The narrow street has two neighboring restaurants. In the first, a woman setting silverware yells at the man behind the register. Her coworker is presumably family. She squeals as he … Continue reading
The Nice Thing About Strangers 