tomohiro

Titi's back had been a throbbing knot of pain since the baby arrived, a tiny bundle of cries and midnight feedings that left her body wrecked and her mind frayed. Ramadan had been her anchor this year

Tomohiro wiped the sweat from his bald scalp with the back of his meaty hand, the cluttered massage shop humming with the low buzz of a faulty fan. Shelves crammed with bottles of oils and half-empty

Tomohiro wiped the sweat from his bald forehead with the back of his meaty hand, the cluttered massage shop humming with the low buzz of a faulty air conditioner. Shelves sagged under jars of oils and

The strip mall hummed with the midday lull, falafel grease wafting from the joint next door like an unwanted perfume. Tomohiro wiped his brow with a meaty forearm, his bald scalp gleaming under the fl

The strip mall hummed with the distant sizzle of falafel frying next door, the air thick with cumin and garlic that seeped through the thin walls of the massage parlor. Titi stepped inside, her hand r

The college dorms on the edge of town always smelled like cheap ramen and desperation, but today, the parking lot of the strip mall felt like a pressure cooker with the AC units humming overtime again

The massage parlor sat wedged between a falafel joint slinging lamb wraps and a pawn shop peddling dusty guitars, the kind of strip mall spot where the air always carried a faint whiff of cumin and re

Emily stepped out of the tattoo shop, the late afternoon sun hitting her like a slap from a forgotten summer fling. The ink on her back was still raw, a sprawling dragon that coiled from her shoulder

The soccer field at Riverside Community College buzzed under a relentless afternoon sun, the kind that turned the grass into a baked patchwork and made the air thick with the scent of fresh-cut clippi

Chasity's phone lit up the next afternoon while she was sprawled on her dorm bed, scrolling through practice highlights from the party night. The screen showed a text from her mom: "Hey sweetie, hope

Chasity's phone buzzed on her dorm desk during a late-night cram session, the screen lighting up with a message from an unknown number: "Massage? Team party after win. Address?" She recognized the bro

Chasity slumped on the edge of her bed, tissues crumpled around her like fallen leaves after a storm. Her nose was a faucet, dripping endlessly from the cold that had hit her mid-semester, and her bac