xcept he knows, as well as they do, that there is little point to his question. They all know what the girl's doing here and where she's going, though not exactly. Rather, they both know what she's running away from and that's enough. catrinaprager.com/2022/04/12/the…

His hands were unexpectedly warm against her porcelain skin. The Overall Man picked her up gently, her blonde head yet unsmashed and held her up to his aging eyes. catrinaprager.com/2022/04/14/the…

She'd long discovered that essentially, people talked too much and listened far too little. And perhaps it was a gift and perhaps it was not, but she did the exact opposite. catrinaprager.com/2022/04/16/of-…

It's the Overall Man's turn to pause and think about it. "We all have a family," he says, in the end. He's very demure as he says this, making it sound rather like a curse than some sort of blessing. "Maybe, but I can't remember mine." catrinaprager.com/2022/04/18/old…

The tune the old man so shakily carried was a lullaby, but the old man could no longer remember the words. Or perhaps just didn't want to. catrinaprager.com/2022/04/20/ret…

"But if things had been different, then you would've never known us. Don't you see, things had to happen as they did, so you could discover your calling." catrinaprager.com/2022/04/22/the…

She'd wake up in a second. She'd hang in the doorway of her dream and then, Greta's piggy-snore would wake her. Except there was no Greta inside the dark forest. catrinaprager.com/2022/04/24/the…

And the woods grow thicker before his very eyes. Inside the woods, eyes watch the car coming. Ears listen. And the dead scream with laughter. catrinaprager.com/2022/04/26/871/

They know what I dream, they sense it when I come through this forest, they smell it on my clothes. And they crave it, they pull out a little more with each visit, but never enough to leave me without. catrinaprager.com/2022/04/28/the…

The trick was to believe it. They both knew it was a lie, that Miss Francine was not in the slightest a ‘kind-hearted woman’, but she could be. In his imagination, in her own, for a moment or two. catrinaprager.com/2022/04/30/the…

So it was that the roads narrowed and altered, the trees stooped and the branches thickened until the travelers, lost inside the forest, lost the sun altogether. catrinaprager.com/2022/04/30/dre…

It doesn't mean to let go and to its credit, it reaches out again almost immediately, hoping to prevent a disaster – if he's fast enough, no one will know how close he was. Except he is not. catrinaprager.com/2022/05/02/fla…

It’s too late. In his last few seconds, Joshua Clack feels his throat seize up, his heart beating. He’s alive. It’s okay now. catrinaprager.com/2022/05/04/nig…

Somewhere deep down, the boy understands what must be done, but the voices cloud his judgment. They see into his mind and whisper their disapproval, suggest different paths. catrinaprager.com/2022/05/05/the…

Somehow, his right hand came off too, and they were all left there dangling, by one hand. The boy screamed and from the nothingness below, something screamed back. catrinaprager.com/2022/05/07/cro…

Get out now, Victoria Mayall, get out now. But it was too late. She was something other now and no longer answered to that name. catrinaprager.com/2022/05/09/of-…

All her life, she’d waited for someone to come and say that to her, except no one ever had, so in the end, she decided she’d just say it herself. catrinaprager.com/2022/05/11/and…

“Nae Pasaran” – Ishiguro’s Common Ground promises, but falls short. catrinaprager.com/2022/07/03/nae…

Shriver’s “Abominations”: An Unapologetic Voice of Reason Through the Chaos catrinaprager.com/2022/10/07/shr…

Halloween should be about more than just dressing up, and drinking and gorging candies. It should be a moment of remembrance, and of honoring your inner strength. catrinaprager.wordpress.com/2022/10/30/how…