Author: marylowd

House Dreams

‪I never dream about my house. I dream weird new houses, which made sense when it looked like we’d have to sell this house and move away. But this morning, I think my brain tried to dream about my house. The result was a strange hybrid of the bones of the house I grew up in, set on the hill where I live now, with all of the furniture stripped away and stolen. Continue reading “House Dreams”

Chestnut Wish

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Typerwriter Emergencies, December 2017

“Once these precious moments that were tearing her apart had all passed… then she would miss these days. Every older otter told her so…”

Olea started screaming first, whiskers quivering with rage.  She was an otter and should have enjoyed tumbling and playing all day.  But she was also an adult, and Shaun was a toddler.  No force on Earth or in space could keep pace with a toddler otter — except for another toddler otter, but Shaun was a rare litter of one.  No sibling playmates.

All Olea wanted was to flop down, drape her long spine over the couch, and watch some TV show with fast-talking cats and dogs in suits throwing quips at each other.  But as soon as she grabbed the remote, Shaun pointed at the TV and chirped in his high-pitched squeak, “Cho-bolos!” over and over — whatever that meant.  Why couldn’t the doggarned kid learn to speak?  Humans hadn’t uplifted otters a hundred years ago so they could chirp nonsense words.  Language.  It was the whole point of being uplifted. Continue reading “Chestnut Wish”

Foreknowledge

“I feel my heart swell with love for her like a balloon swelling into the tip of a knife.”

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Apex, February 2015

I stare out over my pregnant belly, feeling awkward.  Feeling irritable.  “Why wouldn’t I want to know?”

“Some parents don’t want to know,” Dr. Anders says.  “And we respect that.”

“It’s right there on your clipboard, right?” I point to the clipboard, and he holds it infinitesimally closer to his chest.  As if he’s hiding the results from me. Continue reading “Foreknowledge”

Admirable is Better than Amiable

I quite like Star Trek (‘09), but my absolute favorite part is Spock’s answer when Uhura asks what he needs, after his homeworld is destroyed. It captures so much of the heart of Trek & why it’s the future we need:‬

‪“I need everyone to continue performing admirably.”‬

And now it’s time to hang out watching the five-year-old’s gymnastics class with the incongruous sound of #CrazyExGirlfriend soundtracks in my earbuds.‬ Continue reading “Admirable is Better than Amiable”