As we at Pullen & Bumber are familiar with your particular proclivities, we hope to interest you in a series of items that have just come into our possession. They were delivered to the auction house mere days ago, and I assure you that no other customers yet know…
Fantasy
The Boy Band
You have to understand: I’m putty in the hands of sad Asian men. Ever since I saw Jet Li’s wife get killed in “The One,” I’ve been the world’s biggest [...]
The Mistress of Baby Breath
When I find little babies left alone by their mothers, I take them and kiss them until their bright baby eyes shine with laughter, with joy. I carefully tuck the [...]
Safety
“Care to buy me a drink?”
“No.”
Sandra blinked. Clearly this man had not learned the script, and without the script she didn’t see how he thought he had a chance. His [...]
Within the Castle Walls
Beauty could no longer remember how long she had lived in the Beast’s castle. It had been late winter when she came; she was sure of that, for it had [...]
After
The glare drilled its way through Colin’s eyes as he landed with newborn-calf grace on his knees.
“Ow—Jesus!” He choked, clutching his left leg with one hand and shielding his eyes [...]
The Moth Collector’s Daughter
Remember, remember when you were born.
When Ti-ti was born, the Aunties came to anoint her with their declarative magic.
“Oh, her fingers are so short she won’t ever play piano,” said [...]
B’alam
Her grandmother had traveled through the jungle and stood under that same dark canopy many years before. She had been younger than Ix Kan when she walked this path. Thus, [...]
Brother Zimmy Fly
Bob and I dragged ourselves out of bed and were at the church by five, but six other families had camped out overnight and were already in line. Macy was [...]
Tough Love
Jason started the day knowing in his gut that Isobel was about to drop the It’s Not You, It’s Me speech. He’d seen the writing on the wall through his [...]
Iron Boots
She ran, clanking. Ping, grind, huff of breath. Muscles popped and stretched in her legs. She ran, unknowing to nowhere with a tickle of fear fading in the back of [...]
Heavenly
When the boiler in the basement of Temple B’nai Chaim broke down, Zhou Lei decided it was too cold for our weekly Chinese lesson. Our parents were summoned by phone, [...]
Dandelions and Blue Doors
“Witches are born with only half a heart,” our mother used to tell us. “That is why you will never love anyone completely, and why your heart will break so easily.” She was right. My sisters and I were unable to commit whole-heartedly to anything we did. This included our long-standing estrangement from each other—those of us who remain still met once a year, without fail…
In a Pale Room
Cecile had agreed to this charade of a tea, though she was by turns regretting and congratulating herself on her decision to meet Frank just this one last time as [...]
Sheep Women and Dog Boys
She grew aware of something nestled in her hand. It was thin, crisp, somewhat square. Its strange presence was accompanied by a sound she knew, even with her eyes shut. [...]