“She kept one eye on the mountain and one on the dying woman. It had been a difficult few days. When the mountain started to spew hot mud and the earth shook and shook, everyone decided to break camp. They’d seen this before. First mud, then ash, then an eruption with earth slides that took down trees and everything in its path. Sometimes fire. Better to move. The dry riverbeds were a barrier, the old timers said. After that, the delta, the lake, fish, and a change anyway. Summer was coming. They’d been here too long. The proof—a trail of smoke from the collapsed caldera.”
This is from my flash fiction “Rift” just published in FREE LIT MAGAZINE. To see this story of pre-history, as well as one about Viet Nam and one on family dysfunction, check out: issuu.com/freelitmagazine/docs/v1i2
Miriam's Well: Poetry, Land Art, and Beyond 