It was a pleasant early summer evening. A light breeze blew across the small pristine suburb carrying with it the jingles of wind chimes, the smell of burning charcoal, and the laughter children. The sun had all but disappeared from the sky, leaving a soft twilight that proceeded the starlit night. Strolling couples stopped on the sidewalks to make small talk with their neighbors about their plans for the coming summer; packs of children free from the obligations of school aimlessly sped through the neighborhood on their bikes. Backyards swelled with families and friends who congregated around open coolers, grills, and bonfires. One man stood over the gas-fueled flame of his grill. Watching the four patties, he prepared for his family sizzle over the blue and yellow propane flames and listening to the hissing grease jump from the perfectly rounded beef as they changed color from pink to brown. The rising heat from the flames carried the smell directly to his nose, and his mouth sali
This is a collection of anecdotes from the fringes of reality, a tapestry stitched together from our dreams as well as our nightmares, from the fears that haunt the collective imagination. These are the symptoms of the sickness known as the human condition.