Bonding, MSU Roadrunner Review (2025)
“Bonding” is a story about family told from the perspective of a ten-year-old boy in an almost stream of conscious approach. The main character’s mother gets a job at a charter school and this allows her children. Things go well for our MC, but his two brothers struggle and it doesn’t take long before they are fighting with other students. Our MC struggles between choosing success and choosing his family, a kind of pressure that should never be put on a child. I’m proud of this story and the MSU Roadrunner Review nominated it for a Pushcart.
“She was excited when they hired her, tellin’ us she could quit her job at the Chicken Express and maybe even move out of the trailer park. Get an actual apartment with a pool and a dog like we’d always talked about one day gettin’. I was so happy when momma told me she got the job because we got to go to the school. I’m great at coding, and the teachers at my old school told me I’m very talented. When I grow up, I’m gonna’ design video games or work for NASA. I haven’t decided yet.”
Bonding
Iron and Earth, Manastash (2025)
“Iron and Earth” is about a woman recovering from the loss of her lover when she finds an unexpected gift in the house they once shared. The gift comes in the form of a boy made of mud created through blood and sacrifice. The boy, Victor, and the woman build a small life together until one evening a midnight swim turns the mud boy to flesh and blood. This story showcases my range and the ability that my story has to dabble in surreal elements while still maintaining the themes that are resonant throughout my creative work.
“The oven timer dinged. I returned from my painful reverie. I extracted the tray with oven mitts and placed it on the counter. A liquid sloshed around inside and spilled over one corner as the aluminum tray bent slightly. A blackish-red puddle formed on the white tile countertop. I hesitated, getting the same feeling of apprehension I got before dissecting a fetal pig in seventh grade.
Iron and Earth
Rage.
Unexpected rage pushed all other emotions to the side. How dare Vicky do this to me. How dare she bring me into her life only to vanish into her illness. I never held it against her. I knew it was out of her control, but was I wrong to hope our love would be enough to fix her?
I yanked the foil back and steam erupted from the dish. The smell of iron and earth was overwhelming. I felt the heat of bourbon in my throat. The thick reddish-black liquid in the tray simmered. It surrounded an island of mud, shaped conspicuously like a baby. It had small arms, small legs, a body, a baby-sized head, and a baby-sized penis. The face was remarkably detailed and one could even say the sculpture was cute if it wasn’t so strange. Then he opened his eyes. I screamed and jumped back. He stared for a moment. The whites of his eyes popped against his muddy flesh. Then he cried. A series of wet, haggard, and pathetic sobs.”
Walnut Liqueur (Unpublished)
“Walnut Liqueur” is a story about life and death. The narrator explores the grief he feels while watching his grandfather succumb to pancreatic cancer. At the same time, his wife is pregnant with their first child. Weaving together myth, science, memory, and the natural world the narrator finds the beauty in life even at its darkest moments. The story ends on a reflective, uplifting note. This work showcases my ability to experiment with form and my ability to blend genres. This story received an honorable mention from the AWP Intro Journals Project.
“I can’t pass down my grandfather, but I planted roses in the backyard and sprinkled the roots with his ashes. As Charlotte has gotten older, she likes to smell the flowers and helps me pick the best ones for bouquets that we deliver to mom, to friends, and to neighbors. Bell Boy is in my garage, and when the months get cold, we take her out, tossing pots into the bay. My daughter loves watching them sink into the depths while Vanessa and I take sips from a small flask containing walnut liqueur. When I return the pot to the boat, filled with red creatures, water has collected at each of the nodes where the threads of the net meet. Little drops that reflect and refract the world around them, changing from rubies to emeralds to diamonds, depending on what catches their gaze. She is fascinated by the crabs crawling over each other, smiling and shrieking when I hold them up for her to see. I love seeing the unmitigated joy on her face while we bob on the water, exploring this strange yet familiar world. And maybe, if I’m lucky, she can still catch a glimpse of his reflection whenever she looks at me.”
Walnut Liqueur
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