In January I moved into a basement suite in Burnaby. The windows looked out into holes in the ground that were covered by planter boxes along the east wall and a newly built deck along the back. No one lived in the house above, but every weekend at 5 AM the gardener would start up a weed wacker...
I. SUMMER My mother was a gardener. She saw something in natureāin dirt and bugs and effervescent fliesāthat I never have. Under light skies and bright weather, sheād kneel for hours in our mediocre garden, weeding and watering or whatever it is that gardeners do. I am now doing the same in...
I jump out from under the covers, stumbling down the hallway to Curtisās nursery. The deep cream carpet muffles my steps, soft against my bare feet. The cool knob of the door startles me fully awake as I turn it. The hinges creak open. The room is dark. No nightlight. The screams that woke me up...
There was a time when Jubinās dad used to run a reputable coffee store at the heart of Tehranās bazaar. His cheques never bounced. His customers always came back for more. His name Farhadāmeaning helperāhad become synonymous with decency among his colleagues. They had even nicknamed him...
The woman smoking meth across from the bodega looks like your sister, so you offer her a pack of cigarettes and forty-three dollars if sheāll pretend to be her for one night. You could afford to pay more, but this is all you have in cash and she takes it. Up close, she looks less like Reed: acne...
This one Sunday night I stood in my bathroom with the door open while Cass talked me through her most recent horrible week. Cass was tall, blonde, thin. Light on light on light. Except, she kept her long hair dyed bright colours and wore baggy clothes with a lot of patterns. This all had the effect...
