What would you do, to get yourself back? What wouldn't you do? On the island of Kallsoy there is a story. The story says that once upon a time, there was a woman of the sea who fell so in love with a fisherman that she shed her sealskin and walked on new legs out of the waves to be his wife. She bore him many children, and never again turned her gaze to the sea. The story says: you can make a human out of what is not. The story says: this new human will even love you for it.

[read the sequel, 'snow white, blood red'] scroll down for part 2 the hut where grimhilde is born has only one window. she has no father. she has the woods. she knows this because her mother tells her, over and over: i cut my palm so deeply that it can no longer curl into a fist. the blood was hot. it melted the snow, and was swallowed by the dirt. the woods accepted. the woods gave me you. when she is born, the first sound she makes is the same sound all babies make: she cr

Elvis gets hundreds of Valentines every year. Elvis was a blond. He died his hair. That was the first hard lesson about love that Leni ever learned. When she was young, three and four and five, her mother used to swing her around in the living room, voice dropped low and chin against her collarbone as she sang along with the stereo. Her favorite was “Pocketful of Rainbows,” and when she wasn’t focused on holding Leni in place while they whirled, she had a beautiful voice, hus

I AM EXTREMELY STRONG. the summer that i was about thirteen or fourteen, my mother decided to buy a la-z-boy for my stepdad, skip, for their anniversary. she did this because my mother loves giving presents and my stepdad loves sitting down. she needed someone to help transport the chair from the furniture store back to our house. my brother was, at the time, at Sports Camp For Young Boys Who Want To Be Good At Sports And Other Things Too, Like Tying Knots And Spitting, Proba

i know my mother loves me. but. so obviously the problem with listening to country music too much is that it is a constant reminder of my wayward youth growing up on a farm in virginia, and all the stupid shit i used to get up to while my poor mother ran after me waving her hands in the air shouting things like, "why are there eggs on the garage door????" and, "HOW did you end up in LOUISA COUNTY??? YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE IN SCHOOL," and, "YOU'RE GOING TO GET THE PLAGUE IF YOU