Loretta Schiavo Smith

“J's Story” by Loretta Schiavo Smith

Submitted to Contest #45

“The banality of evil corrupts one’s humanity. Swiftly and mercilessly,” said Mr. Winston on the first day of senior English. I understood the philosophical construct but not its application on a personal level. But I do now. Maybe I could’ve avoided the pain and mess I’m in, if I’d recognized my own failings before acquiescing so easily. Mr. Winston reminded me later that foresight is wasted on the blind.xxxI sat in the middle row second seat. Edwin Rice Cooper was two rows behind me surrounded on all four corners by his posse. Churchill He...

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“Petunia P Prince” by Loretta Schiavo Smith

Petunia P PrinceLoretta Schiavo SmithMany years ago, in the town of Pentland, a baby girl was born with shiny red petunia-shaped flowers on the inside of each ankle. And so, her parents, Patience and Philip, named her Petunia. Petunia P.Prince. She had dimpled cheeks, almond-shaped eyes and curly chestnut brown hair that tickled the nape of her neck. Petunia’s sweet smiles entranced her parents and everyone who met her.Rich Widow Comstock lived five blocks north of the Princes’ apartment with her fat flatulent bulldog Mister. She detested ch...

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“Her Unexpected Friend” by Loretta Schiavo Smith

Submitted to Contest #40

Her Unexpected FriendLoretta Schiavo SmithAs Priscilla stepped out of the cab, she cursed under her breath when she tore her stockings on the door’s chrome moulding. Three whistles signalled the train’s imminent departure from Track #3 heading east to Toronto. Running to her train, she climbed the steps of car C425, stumbled down the aisle gripping her mother’s alligator suitcase and slumped into her seat. It was hot that day. A record hot, humid August. Sweat trickled down her neck creasing her cotton blouse, now stuck to her back. Pulling ...

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“Andy” by Loretta Schiavo Smith

Submitted to Contest #39

AndyBy: Loretta Schiavo Smith I was born under the Virgo constellation which contains Spica, one of the brightest stars in the night sky. My parents considered naming me Spica but decided it better suited our Golden Retriever. Instead, they named me Andromeda, the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way; not because they appreciated myths, but because Andromeda was my mother’s focus of study at the time. Physics was my parents’ access to the universe. For me, the stars led to Vincent and Anne.       &n...

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“A Hole in the Fence” by Loretta Schiavo Smith

Submitted to Contest #38

“A Hole in the Fence” Loretta Schiavo Smith The year Manny dumped me, I rescued a mutt, moved to Beverley Street and met the woman on the other side of the fence. In that order. The mutt was Lady and the woman, who was no lady, was Opal. In retrospect, I was naively and foolishly blind; the relationship had run its course…for Manny. For me, the unexpected assault arrived at warp speed.  Christy and I lived in the same on-campus residence our freshman year. We called her NYC because she was born and bred in New York City’s Upper East Sid...

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