Staring at the ceiling, I follow the cracks in the plaster that stretch from one side of the room to the other. I try to find meaning, but there’s little of anything save for the cracks. I think about dying. I don’t want to die. Certainly not any time soon. It has to be said… Read more

“How’s the writing going?” she shouts. I make to reply, but her laughter and the dog’s barking drowns out any chance of being heard. “Fine,” I mutter. Finishing my beer, I grab another and sit down with my arms crossed. I can feel my mood sinking. The beer isn’t helping, but neither is the threat… Read more

After he died, she told me she never again wanted to own another pet. Said it hurt too much to see them go, and yet I think it had more to do with not wishing to replace this particular hamster. It’s as if she felt it would somehow be too disrespectful considering all they’d been… Read more

From the bathroom comes rabid howling followed by a fit of giggles. Whenever Meeko giggles too much, she descends into spasms of crude snorting, and sure enough, it comes thick and fast as does the dog’s salivating bark. His tail is hitting the shower curtain again. Speaking to him in Japanese, she calms him down… Read more

As Meeko sings, the dog barks his reply, and the two of them begin their strange duet from the other side of the bathroom door. I can only imagine what they look like together. In my mind, I picture Elton John and Kiki Dee in the music video for Don’t Go Breaking My Heart. It’s… Read more

“Who’s a smelly boy?” she asks. The dog lets out a small bark and licks her nose in reply. “You’ve got manky fish on you now,” I say while sitting myself down at my desk. “Doesn’t matter,” she says, “I’ll wash myself after I wash him.” Swigging my beer, I bring my feet up and… Read more

Moving towards me, she plants her feet upon the floorboards with a shake of her hips, causing the tips of my fingers to itch out of excitement. The sweat that drips down her legs shows no sign of stopping; it flows between each one of her toes, leaving prints on the unvarnished wood that disappear… Read more

Climbing the stairs with the dog clutched against my belly, I pant and heave while the beer sweats out of me with a vengeance. It’s not far, yet in these conditions—in my condition—it might as well be to the moon. Licking my hand, the dog grins at me as the blood from his paws drips… Read more

Carrying him like a babe in arms, he licks my chin, and the stench of manky fish on his breath is only made bearable by the stink of beer. Still, he seems happy enough, and even though his tail is pressed firmly against my hands, I feel him excitedly trying to wag it as I… Read more