METRONOME / JENNIFER STASAK

i. She told me to listen to the silence; count its beats, she said. My eyes slipped closed but all I could hear were her chandelier earrings swishing and her sticky fingers turning the page of ave maria. Hear the music. Feel
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THREE / CATE COMPTON

She always thought of the most important things in threes.  Even when she was a small child, it was a number that made sense to her.  Mother, father, child.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner.  The people who loved her first came to her in
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MISS HOOKER / GALE ACUFF

When I die I’ll go to Hell, Miss Hooker says, my Sunday School teacher, because I sin too much and even a little’s not good. But it can’t be all my fault because Adam and Eve started it all, crossing God by
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A BUSHRANGER AND A FOOL / PAUL LEWELLAN

“Ya wear me out,” he said with a satisfied sigh, rolling off her body toward the open window.  The breeze blowing in from Darwin Harbor cooled their sweat-drenched bodies. “Don’t you fall sleep, jackeroo!”  She gave him a shove.  “You promised we’d
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CAPTAIN AMERICA / PAUL MCDONALD

Captain America showed up To Dave and Tiffany’s wedding. An ‘A’ on his forehead, Star on his shield, red boots and gloves. At first I thought it must be fancy dress But his smile betrayed the truth: His patriotic teeth. He settled
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MAIL CARRIER / ZIGGY EDWARDS

Walking past steep porches, you sometimes whistle and a cat’s face appears beneath the bushes like a four-leaf clover. Squat, extend your hand, pointing your index finger. Stay still, look in his eyes. This is the lesson I have to give as
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