Writings by Catherine Babbitt
Cora Nichols slumped in a burgundy-colored sofa, her arms a shield of defiance at her chest, and glared at her family. How could they laugh and talk with one another? She had a mind to go over and slap each and everyone, show them what grieving a loved one truly looked like. Even the funeral …
Julia lounged on a lime-green couch with white pillows embroidered with little pink flowers. She hummed and knitted.
I crept along the floral wallpapered hallway, the colors muted under the moonlight that filtered in through an opening from the kitchen. The house was quiet, nothing rustled, and I steadied my steps as I moved, hoping for no squeaky floorboards. Black-wood picture frames speckled the large print flowers and showed the same faces in different …
An older woman, with graying hair at her temples, hands me a cup of coffee. "Let it cool. It's still too hot," the woman says. I don't know who she is, but I'm not going to listen to the likes of her. I take a sip and burn my tongue. Maybe the strange woman was …
CRACK! I jolted upward and listened. What was that? Adrenaline roared through my veins. My heart pounded in my chest. I strained my ears and held my breath. A large whitetail deer sprang from the dense forest. I jumped, falling over into the thick underbrush. I sighed relief once I saw what scared me. The …
Chapter Story - Part Four A gust of wind slammed my body, and I toppled over as if the hand of Many Gods slapped me to the ground. Snow eddied and spun all around me, and any sight I did have vanished. I clamped my gloved hands to my face and waited for the wind's …
Continue reading "The Weight of It: A Journey is Never as it Seems"
Chapter Story - Part Three Dancing light emanated from the open hatch of the pot belly stove and illuminated Morgan's body. Every few seconds the body twitched, or seemed to, though I told myself it was the fire's flickering light, nothing more. I hugged my legs closer, afraid he would grab my ankle and that …
Chapter Story - Part Two "What?" I said and jerked back. He must be wrong, hallucinating most likely. Sebastian was dead. I had been at the funeral, crumpled to the ground, unable to hold my anguish inside. Old Lady Selena had brought hyacinths to the funeral. The scent still made me nauseous. "He's alive. Sebastian is alive," he …
Chapter Story - Part One Cold etched its way across the window pane, intricate snowflake drawings under a microscope, while the wind and snow whipped and whirled outside. The winter-art spread, similar to salt dispersing watercolor on a canvas, as I traced my finger along its ever increasing pattern. The freezing pane stung the tip of my finger. Neither …
Rain pelts the ground, driving river streaks down my face and neck, and chills my bones; my thin wool jacket soaks through. I should hurry home, but my feet stay leaden on the mountain road—another couple of miles to go. The roadside abounds with fat huckleberries, and I toss a handful in my mouth. The …
