500 GPM By JD Miller Wendell Cho, champion of KNN’s KidGenius Season 4, knew a lot about whales. He knew a lot about a lot of things, but whales were a specific interest to him because, well, why not? He knew, for instance, that whales don’t blow water out of their blow-holes, and that blow-holes … Read more
The Octopus By JD Miller, with Illustration by Catherine Turk On Thursday, Lorelei painted the cutest octopus. It was pink and blue. Its eight tentacles looked like soft jelly. Its eyes were closed, just two curved lines, like two little smiles. She held it up to look at it, smiling, and said out loud, YOU … Read more
The Adder Stone By JD Miller Barnie knew better than to run across the rocks, which were piled right up against the shore like a million gray eggs of different sizes. She’d done it before and fallen, just about breaking her knees. So instead, she crossed them with a series of careful jumps, zig-zagging from … Read more
What Ever Happened to That Fox? By JD Miller Illustration by Aaron Tolopilo The legend of the fox spirit ends as it begins—in smoke, or fog, however you like to interpret it. He was not born, you see. Even at the beginning, he simply appeared. Often, he’d joke about the way he came to be, … Read more
Hand Study By JD Miller It is February, and his hands are strong, hers as white and soft as snow. They touch each other only in passing, a brush of fingerprints on skin. But one day, the beginning of March, his hand touches hers and she doesn’t pull away. Instead, she intertwines her fingers with … Read more
From the Hill Over the Sea By JD Miller In the cottage at the top of the hill, the dew was still glistening on the lawn. Nobody had been by to call in three days, but the flowers in the crystal vase remained as immaculate as if they’d been clipped only moments ago. At the … Read more
Not More By JD Miller He gave her a hug that knocked the sunglasses off the top of her head. It wasn’t unfriendly in any way. But that was just the problem, wasn’t it? Not unfriendly, but not…more. Sitting on the bus, that’s all she could think about. Not more. Not more could be the … Read more
Idle By JD Miller Maurice lived on the opposite side of the day. He worked while most people slept, he slept alone while most people were awake together. And most of his friends were dead. He didn’t mind so much anymore. They were more dependable this way. He knew right where to find them, because … Read more