fact or fiction

Is it fact or merely fiction? Fact or Fiction explores the myths and beliefs we hold about our pets, like why dogs wag their tails and cats purr.

Hope From Another
He wore a pristine black suit. It was perfectly tailored to his physique. White shirt, pressed, starched, not a wrinkle in sight. Blue tie, bright, but not flamboyant, and subtlety cascading into the colors of the rich black jacket. Flawless, it was spectacular. He had spent the entire previous night shinning the shoes until they glossed a perfect reflection. Sitting in the hotel room he had lost himself in the memories as he blankly stared at those shoes, eloquent executive wingtips. And he had polished, and polished. Clean the dust off, dry, shine, oil, shine, oil, shine. Rhythmic work, repeatable work. His memories took him to his previous years, in the arms of his young bride, his lover.
By Daryl Benson5 years ago in Petlife
Vernon the Three Pawed Discoverer
Rain drops danced upon the windscreen as we made our way along the windy dirt driveway. I can’t quiet remember if we were talking, or perhaps listening to the radio. But I do remember the chill of the air hitting my lungs as we got out of the car. A reminder that winter is just around the corner.
By Sophie Knight5 years ago in Petlife
The Wonderful Mrs. Pink
Mrs. Bernice Pink always carried her little back notebook with her wherever she went. Even her husband Chester, known to all as "Chester Pink the Mattress King," couldn't pry that little book out of her thin, pale hands that very special sultry evening in Chicago when he knelt on one knee with a heartfelt proposal at their favorite Italian restaurant.
By Melissa G Wilson5 years ago in Petlife
In Mrs. Giverney’s Teeth
I’d taken my girlfriend on vacation to New York City, to show her places highlighted throughout the many stories she’d heard of my college days. I knew the city better than those born and raised there, I often insisted. “Had you been born into a family fortunate enough to own one of these brownstones,” I was sarcastically informing her as we walked past the famous homes surrounding New York’s Gramercy Park, “you’d have been born with a silver key in your mouth instead of a spoon.”
By W.A. Dee5 years ago in Petlife
The Horrible Hirschbaum
The neighbor was painting his trash cans again. While Davis trimmed the hedge between their adjoining yards, he surreptitiously watched him print "Mr. Hirschbaum" and his address in large white brushstrokes, stark against the black plastic.
By Emily Sowulewski5 years ago in Petlife
Attacus
With wings matching an autumn mood of dead leaves, warmth and longing, he flies through radiant green leaves. He is Attacus Atlas, The Atlas moth, and an unlikely protagonist of a story.
By Anca Demeter5 years ago in Petlife
From Felines to Foxes
Sylvia always seemed to have luck on her side. With auburn elbow length hair and eyes that never managed to stay one color, her innate luck fostered an unshakable confidence. Except when it came to romance—a subject for another story. Unbeknownst to her (as our psyche tends to forget that we are a soul in a body), Sylvia incarnated into this life to catalyze social change. It was an influence that came with an entourage of spiritual protection and some other added advantages . . . like luck. Were you assuming that luck is something that happens at random? I’ll let you in on a secret—luck is contracted before birth. When the contracts are signed legally (and not sold on the black market), they are signed in Lucknow, India—Luck’s Headquarters, and are allocated out based on merit and requirement. Divine Law grants a fixed amount of luck to the human population each year and the vetting process is thorough.
By Marnie O'Farrell 5 years ago in Petlife
It's Piggy Time
My brain won’t shut off. It feels like a thousand thoughts are on their own rollercoaster ride throughout my head. I read about meditation, but I can’t do it. No matter what I do, I can’t seem to shut it off. How am I supposed to think about nothing? If I close my eyes and think about nothing, and I see nothing, then I start to wonder what nothing is. Is nothing something? I see a sea of black when I close my eyes, so that is something. If I were to see nothing, what would that look like? That is just a little insight into how my brain works.
By Angie Gorr5 years ago in Petlife
I am a Red Fox
This is an excerpt from a collection of essays by a good friend of mine who is a red fox. Imagine that you come home from work to find a letter stuck to your door with a knife - This is my house now. The Vixen’s scent outside my den meant as much. Some of you might not think it so bad to be followed by a female of your own species, but you should probably read the first line again. The Vixen stood a head taller than me and liked fighting a lot more than I did. Every change of season she got tired of my old territory and came to take my new one.
By Samuel Leeman-Munk5 years ago in Petlife
Sanderson
“Why is there a duck swimming in the bathtub?” My husband stood in the doorway to our bedroom, loosening his tie and tilting his head to the side.
By Erika Seshadri5 years ago in Petlife
Where the Lilies Grow
I will never get used to losing pet. You want them to live forever and you do everything to show them you love them. But what can we do? That's life! We'll all leave this life one day. I just wish I could have prevented my poor Brairy from passing so suddenly. It hit me like a ton of bricks. He was playing one day, then the next day he fell ill. He was gone within a week. I always thought I would cremate him so he would always be with me. But I decided to bury him somewhere on my family's land.
By Kennett Taft5 years ago in Petlife
Return To Me
Angel had spent so much time in the library that she knew exactly how to get herself locked in for the night. It had almost happened twice, in fact, before she decided to do it on purpose.
By Simone Siren5 years ago in Petlife