She’d been left with no choice. She’d have to go to the store on Christmas eve. — Amanda opened the refrigerator. Nothing. Just as the night before, but this time, her favorite plate to get takeout wasn’t open. She’d been left with no choice. She’d have to go to the store on Christmas eve. Amanda had been living on her own since graduating from college. She opted to remain…

Lindsay wanted nothing more than for her family to be together at Christmas. In the five years since she moved out of her parents’ house, it seemed like something came up every year to keep them apart. — Lindsay wanted nothing more than for her family to be together at Christmas. In the five years since she moved out of her parents’ house, it seemed like something came up every year to keep them apart.

Good thing come to those who… Wait, how did it go? — “Hey, Bill. Did you finish that project on time?” “Uh oh.” “What’s wrong?” “I thought the project was supposed to be about a new marketing strategy.” More Conversations: Coffee Pot Conversations: Have We Met? You look familiar…medium.com Coffee Pot Conversations: Proposal I think there’s been some confusion…medium.com Coffee Pot Conversations: Qualified Everything seems to be in ordermedium.com

“Brews and bubbles and doors and knobs, this world knows only keys and jobs. From one end of the map to the Lover’s Lane, make my beloved here again.” — Faye checked the instructions once more. The next ingredient had a smudge over the second word. Rat tail? Rat tongue? Rat tattoo? She shook her head. She dropped both into the cauldron. A puff of purple smoke rose up and through the cracks in the ceiling.

“Royal mail doesn’t make it to our little village very often. You’ll notice the crest on the other side where it’s sealed. As for who it’s from, only you can find out. However, if you stop by the pub later and share the news, I wouldn’t mind finding out myself.” — A s she continued her stroll through the woods, she thought about the curious man with the curious name. Markop. She wished she’d taken the time to speak with him more. Would he still be there when she turned back?

On All Hallows Eve, a witch stood before a cauldron in a cabin cast far into the woods. — O n All Hallows Eve, a witch stood before a cauldron in a cabin cast far into the woods. Faye wasn’t sure how her brew would turn out. The market in the village just outside the woods didn’t have any eye of newt left and so she opted for eye…

What’s on the menu? —

The presence of his father still made him feel uneasy. The man he’d known when he was five wasn’t sitting across from him. No. His father loved to laugh and talk at the table. This man hadn’t spoken a word since arriving home. — Jacob waited at the window. Today was the day. His father, Captain Michael Marshall, would be returning home from his time in space. The mission, as far as Jacob knew, was to travel to a distant planet and survey the environment in hopes it could one day sustain human life.

Haiku —