Parva Gradus

Stories

  • Deer God

    Deer God

    A dozen deer galloped along the trail through the moist, shady woods. The trail curved along the shorter side of a greenish lake from which trees with weeping branches grew, hiding the water from the sun. The deer’s chests blew out and squeezed in with perfect rhythm and near synchronicity, for their collective pilgrimage was… Read more

  • Sun Sky

    “Did you notice that?” Susanna asked while casting a concerned glance at the window. “That flicker? They concern you far too much, hon,” her husband sighed. “You’re too spoiled by city life. You’re lucky I finally dragged you back out to the country.” He smiled, anticipating her customary response to that line. But it never… Read more

  • Soot

    A black winter ensnares the landscape with its deceptively calm and deadly ubiquity. The clouds never scream, never flash, only stir. They are gray, infested with soot spewed into the atmosphere from fires that consume flesh dozens, or scores, or hundreds of miles away. Fires somewhere, everywhere, never before the eyes or the ears. Thick… Read more

  • Rescue

    A red van tears through the street. The driver’s teeth are clenched tight enough to cause pain, but he doesn’t feel it. He is too focused on the road, on the obstacles. He cranks the wheel left, then right, then left, scraping other cars and nearly missing pedestrians. His greatest fear is striking a pole… Read more

  • Concerning Colors and Stars

    Concerning Colors and Stars

    Ethan squirmed over the mattress of plump switchgrass, trying to settle. Several times he had felt comfortable only to be prodded under the shoulder by a rock or tickled on the cheek by a limp blade. The rock would need to be excavated from the natural bed and the loose blade plucked from its root… Read more

  • A Fish In the Water Out of the Bucket

    A paid 18-month internship with guaranteed employment which would place Derek Giles in the top 30-or-so percent of income earners in the United States within the first five years of his career was an irresistible offer. At the time, it was unbelievable. But some engineers had made incredible breakthroughs in submarine technology, so the previously… Read more