My Cardboard Balcony

Here's the thing: Halloween might be my favorite holiday. I may gush about it. But one thing I truly love is the Christmas season. Christmas is #2 on my list of favorite holidays (Thanksgiving is #3), and what makes Christmas so special to me are the little things that come with the twenty-five days I pay attention it (You will not see me celebrate Christmas until December 1st; end of story). Yes, the tree and the lights and the presents and the decorations are all wonderful. To me, they create warmth and spirit and positive feelings overall, regardless of whether or not you're a pagan or Christian. But I want to mention, in quick succession, some of the nuances of the Christmas season that I adore. I love Christmas music; Christmas carols are great, but I'm partial to Celtic music and to Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas. I love advent calendars; the chocolates are not that tasty, but the concept of it is just fun to me. I love being able to put on green a...

Or Maybe They're Just Broke by Belinda Roddie I find out who my real friends are on Christmas.

I'd like to believe that I'm only human, but the truth is, I'm not. And I mean this purely in a literal sense. Not literal in the corrupted, perverted way individuals misuse it in this day and age. I mean actually, truly, purely, I am not only human. You see, I was reconstructed twenty years ago after a freak accident on a military base. I will not say the base's location, or who worked there. All you have to know was that I was an honored captain, and that there were plenty of mad scientists eager to create the first android/human hybrid - because let's face it, Robocop's got nothing on me.

We Drank Cinnamon by Belinda Roddie We drank cinnamon cider while we sang karaoke at the top of our lungs while the San Francisco night left its tang in our mouths and its frost against our tongues, the silver mikes shaking in our hot fists. I tried to stay steady, belting a tune or two (or three, or four), my voice high-pitched, barely intact below the white half moon, my ears ringing. It was quite a party - one that left me dizzy and full of life, the music shaking in my memory, reminding me of love, my future wife sleeping in our bed in our apartment, waiting for my return, energy spent.

Joshua scribbled all over Jessica's drawing with a magic marker, yet he did very well at acting shocked and stunned when accused of the act. Still, the teacher was very good at perceiving his lying, and thus he was sent to the corner table to think about what he had done. Jessica, of course, had to redraw the entire picture, but at least she still managed to get an A.

Mundane Day in Hell by Belinda Roddie The parking ticket on my windshield was written in ancient runes. I heard archaic enchantments uttered by the barista at the coffee shop. And once the peppermint hot chocolate was dripping down my chin, I saw fire falling with the snow, and everyone spoke in tongues

Molly wanted to watch every single sunset with Nasreen. That was part of the routine. If Nasreen was going to stay with her, then a little bit of sentimentality was warranted. The two of them sat on the hillside overlooking Little Anthem, watching as flecks of gold kissed the black grasses on the horizon. Nasreen took Molly's hand. "Your fingers are cold, miss," she commented. Molly said nothing. She breathed in slowly, embracing the warmth of Nasreen's skin.