As she giggles at me as the chimes of a faraway clock tickle my sunburnt ears, I pull the dead leaves from my hair before attempting to climb the tree. Fingers digging into the crumbling bark, I try scuttling up like Hachikō had done moments earlier, but immediately fall onto my back like a beetle.… Read more

Although she’s always resembled a girl more than she has a woman, as she sits upon the long, beckoning branch alongside Hachikō, I see her not as my lover, but as the child I once wished was my sister. Life as an only child never bothered me much, but there were times when I would… Read more

“What are you doing?” she asks, “stop messing about and help me get him down.” Still grasping the trunk of the tree, I open my eyes to find Meeko frowning at me. “I’m just going to sit for a bit,” I say. “Are you serious?” Not having the energy to tell her of my revelation,… Read more

Ignoring her words, I close my eyes as saliva drips from Hachikō’s grinning mouth. Falling through the dusty air along with the corpses of what were once beautiful green leaves, the drops of doggy spit land upon my head of hair like tears from clouds about to burst open in a storm—gutted by the knife-wielding… Read more

Rain fills an egg cup on a plastic table. In an overgrown garden full of twigs, green and memories unseen, the wind moves all but me. I can see it, but can’t feel it. Its scent is that of dust and old marbles. Just why there’s an egg cup in the garden is a story… Read more

“Surely you would save me if I were drowning?” “I might,” she says, “it depends on how annoying you’ve been.” “I don’t annoy you, do I?” I say tongue firmly in cheek. “Yes, you do, and quite often at that.” Grinning to myself as we circle the looming tree, I spy how its bark bears… Read more

“I’m kind to all things that deserve my kindness.” “Then why not birds?” “Because they always shit on me. They do it on purpose.” “Well, they will if you have a habit of seeking them out. You’ll make them nervous.” “I don’t seek them out!” she protests. Shaking my head, I groan as a gentle… Read more

“Poor birds,” I say, “you leave them alone.” “Dirty feathered sods,” she snarls with a grin. Pulling her close as she makes a strange growling noise in the back of her throat, Hachikō snaps his tail before rushing the tree. Circling its trunk like a squirrel, he ascends with great speed and agility. Disappearing into… Read more

Town drenched in mist. Thick, gloopy mist that reminds you of the grave. Not yours, of course, but it will be one day. Roads leading to grey stores and grey people with their grey hands stuffed deep into the pockets of their threadbare jeans. Pockets got sticks of gum in them, and bus tickets chewed… Read more

“You’re thinking of snow, aren’t you?” “Yes,” I say, “how do you know that?” “You talk about it in your sleep.” “I do?” “Yes. Little snippets here and there. Brief descriptions of the world you desire to be real more than the one you live in.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “You know full well… Read more