Rosie Ford
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Stories (10)
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The Rear View
The desert is watching. The moment I lift my new vape to my mouth, a gust of hot wind flings my hair into the chapstick on my lip like a gentle slap in the face. I know I should stop. I’ve tried. I’m always so close to getting away, too. I buy gas, go inside to buy a drink, tell myself I’m not getting anything else, and there they are behind the counter, strategically arranged so they’re impossible to ignore. Every vape is going to be my last, and then it isn’t.
By Rosie Ford 5 months ago in Fiction
I’ve Driven Every Car . Top Story - July 2025.
The title is a bit of an exaggeration, but I have driven a lot of cars. Because I work at a dealership, I have access to a wide range of makes, models, and years. This article is an alphabetical summary of my thoughts on the makes that stand out, for better or worse.
By Rosie Ford 6 months ago in Journal
Atlas
Gravity pulls harder now, even this close to the top of the world. People carrying their weight in goods and luggage pass Tashi like they’re carrying nothing at all. He breaks down and stops wherever the trail widens, stares down the crumbling flanks of the mountain until the perspective makes him sick. Easy. It would be so easy. But Tashi stays put—if he steps over, that’s it. No going back. Dad will never know what happened, Nima might never know where he went, and Tashi will never know whether she missed him at all.
By Rosie Ford 6 months ago in Fiction
Where Were You? . Runner-Up in The Second First Time Challenge.
Halcyon was one of those things no one comprehended as it was happening, or we didn’t want to comprehend. Couldn’t comprehend. I watch Director Ehler in the recording of the press conference that inevitably accompanies the new footage of Janus, and I don’t recognize my colleague of twenty-five years. He is younger, yes, but still grey, and slim, and himself. After comprehending, he was older. Greyer. Slimmer. Part of him died with Halcyon.
By Rosie Ford 6 months ago in Fiction
The Drowning of the Phoenix
TRAGEDY IN SIN CITY — LOS ANGELES MAN FOUND DEAD IN PHOENIX CASINO POOL July 8, 1972 — Michael Powell, 34, was found dead in the Phoenix Casino pool last Wednesday. Preliminary investigations have ruled his death an accidental drowning, likely a result of intoxication.
By Rosie Ford 3 years ago in Fiction
On Birds at the Airport
It’s 07:30 and I’m still not awake, which wouldn’t be all that concerning except I’ve just driven thirty miles and I don’t remember any of them. Now Bobby is driving me around the abandoned golf course just south of the international airport, creeping over old golf cart tracks I don’t see until we’re on them.
By Rosie Ford 3 years ago in Confessions
Duality. Runner-Up in Unexpected Uncovering Challenge.
The neighbors’ chickens have escaped again. From his place on the sofa, Leo watches them peck at the front lawn. Mindless little prehistoric creatures with only one motivation: finding food. It’s the same reason Leo keeps his stupid job at the stupid bank in the stupid part of town with all the stupid mistimed traffic lights. Food. That’s one thing they have in common.
By Rosie Ford 3 years ago in Fiction
Cat Ladies
Gandalf comes home with one eye. Not one plus another one. Just one, which is one less than he had when Hazel let him out to do whatever he does during the day. He yowls when he rubs his face against her black leggings, smearing blood all over her shin and calf. Most of her clothes are black because they match his fur. At least, that’s how it started and that’s what she tells people. She picks him up and stains her shirt red too.
By Rosie Ford 3 years ago in Fiction
