As I mentioned, some of the things she talks about, I understand, but most of it goes over my head. It’s like she’s speaking a foreign language. Here and there, I grasp certain words. Specific phrases; titbits of information I’m already acquainted with. For the most part, though, it’s more about the feeling than it… Read more

It started when I’d had a few beers. The beers made me snore in my sleep. Sometimes so loud that I would jolt wide awake as if shaken. That’s when I discovered Meeko talking. To begin with, I thought she was perhaps having some seedy affair, and waiting for me to pass out until she… Read more

Much like myself, Meeko is an only child. She tells me her younger years weren’t especially lonely, however. The lack of siblings didn’t bother her, as she never missed what she never had. She was pretty, and popular, a magnet for romantic gestures and those wishing to be blessed by her kind heart, yet she… Read more

Come to think of it, some guy died not long after we moved here. It was within the first few weeks of our arrival. We were still in the process of bringing bits and pieces in from our last place, a similar style apartment that was about to be demolished so they could build a… Read more

Meeko tells me I’m a modern-day Peter Pan. I wish it were because I can fly, but it’s more to do with being a child in a man’s body. While those around me have grown up, I’ve held onto the same naïve dreams I’ve had since I was young. It’s the only thing that’s ever… Read more

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