Denese Wright

“His Name Was Eric” by Denese Wright

Reading text messages from a stranger can arouse levels of curiosity you’ve never dreamed of. This was a first for me and I liked it. “So why did you move from New York?” I asked. It took him a while to reply. I assumed he hopped offline for something important and I waited, patiently. I checked the phone every now and again. His ...

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“Geese, Grease & Fire” by Denese Wright

Submitted to Contest #229

When Christmas approaches it greets you with a warm December kiss. Outside, fall is whispered away in the wind. Nights stretch out. Golden fires burn brighter, hotter and longer, and waltz inside the many fireplaces. Old fire wood remembers this passionate heat and burns longer, so why would anyone want to douse such a flame? Good question.  The family is doing so...

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“Imbalance: The Price of Vanity” by Denese Wright

Submitted to Contest #225

Caroline suggests the unthinkable, knowing O’Carey would rather sell a kidney. Regrettably there is a foreclosure notice on the bedside table, and they have nowhere else to go except out into the desert to reminisce on former days of financial glory living high off the hog in Phoenix. O’Carey rubs his face remembering the promise he made to himself to never sell hi...

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“My Nine Lives” by Denese Wright

This is the time when I roll over and snuggle in on my stomach, but I need to find the source of my irritation first. Gliding my hand over silky smooth satin sheets, I search for a blaring siren demanding compliance, but I can’t find it. Finally, I slide my index finger across the screen, again. My eyes are refusing to open because sleep is gluing them together. Not today, please, it’s Saturday.<...

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“The Nurse's Station” by Denese Wright

He hopped into the room shirtless and with a swollen foot, still clutching a half-empty bottle of Heineken beer. I was at work and he was on vacation. He said his name was Ruben Van den Berg, and he sat on the bed, putting the swollen foot up beside him. He looked at me, smiled, and asked, “Be honest, how many of these did you ever see come in here?” “Lots and lo...

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“Unwritten Rules” by Denese Wright

Tunnel vision: it’s hard not to see a foaming rabid dog, but I heard he said that’s what he is. Surprisingly I still land the next punch with a towel landing on my head. I punched so hard the bag squealed. It sounds even better than it feels. It gives me a rush. I use it to wipe away all the sweat pouring from my brow, clouding my vision, and throw the towel back over the top of my head, it means ‘thank you Jerem...

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“Angela's Ghost” by Denese Wright

He shaves arrow heads carved from bone to a narrow razor sharp point and has meticulously perfected it. He dips each one in home-made ricin one at a time, and bundles the arrows in a leather sheath which he slings around his shoulder. Camouflaged in combat gear, he pinches an eye, takes aim and draws the bowstring. In a release the arrow slices the air to find its mark just inches away from the j...

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“A first Day Birthday” by Denese Wright

I wore what I had, warped leather shoes and miss-matched socks. This was me looking forward to getting baked. By baked I mean lathered in a batter of flour, eggs and water on the first day of school. It is how my friends normally greeted me on my birthday in early September. This time I hoped for a belated celebration due to the circumstances and so I carried my books in my hands, well, the ones ...

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“An Ocean of Stars” by Denese Wright

I believed presentation had meaning, in my mind I opened a coffin, taking comfort in the message being conveyed: end is beginning.  The lid creaked. He lied in repose and clothed. His skin, a kind of pinkish peach, appeared inherently human. Now I’m disturbed to an almost unbearable degree. Are we the last of our kind?  Tonight, u...

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“Old Masters” by Denese Wright

Submitted to Contest #212

There’s nothing as symbolic to me as an urn: a body made of clay, a white hot fire, and ash, but I’ve only made one in my lifetime. My right knee hurts. I also have arthritis in both hands. There are wrinkles on my face and all too. Guess what, I’m still here kicking this wheel. All I can hear in an empty garage is the sound of harmony. It is the sound of physics,...

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“Finding Gwendolyn” by Denese Wright

Go on a road trip with your elders and you’re guaranteed to get lost, but you might also end up finding yourself. I remember past road trips with Donavan, my husband. We were a little younger. We used to laugh together while he drove in circles around an empty parking lot trying to calibrate the compass in his truck. He always did this before the start of each journey. Our first two children were...

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“The Black Heart Man” by Denese Wright

Are you afraid of the dark like I am? We are going crab hunting tonight, not that I really want to but a special recipe I have in mind is curried crab with a mango chutney. One of my friends is going to show me how to cook it and we are in Negril Point, dead west on the island of Jamaica on holiday. Why pay for an expensive crab dinner with a million crabs on the march? Mangoes are everywhere and...

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“Neck Bones & Chicken Blood” by Denese Wright

Submitted to Contest #205

The following is an excerpt from the upcoming novel ‘Illegally Legal’. Based on true events, it follows Rachel Brown’s journey. The setting is on a farm in a thriving rural township on the island of Jamaica. Rachel is of a middle class family, and they have fallen on hard times watching their patriarch suffer in physical and mental decline. Desperate to find a breakthrough in medicine to reverse ...

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“Prohibition Reborn” by Denese Wright

Getting In The Year is 2025, and economies around the world fell into the purging fire of another blistering depression.  Here, in the middle of a lush green desert, one wonders, “How can I really be in greener pastures?” The dollar is deader than that sunbaked snakeskin afoot, reminding me of all the...

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“Lost & Found” by Denese Wright

Lost & Found Lilly, a thirty three year old nurse practitioner, clocks out for the joyous ride home. Finally, a well-deserved vacation, and two of her friends are tagging along. They fly to the Bahamas for a day, and then hop to Puerto Rico for a week of indulgence in tropical sunshine, Caribbean cuisine, shaking bikini bottoms...

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