Fiction

Photo by Mike Perry   By the first week of August, the balcony had forgotten what coolness felt like. The morning sun arrived far too early and settled itself among…

The perfect beach-reading companion this summer is a suspenseful mix of thrills, romance, and intrigue—plus head-spinning deception—all played out on the international stage in the high-class, high-stakes world of priceless…

Photo by Sonia   June had entered its unreasonable phase. The jasmine no longer climbed so much as advanced. During the night, it appeared to make private decisions of its…

Photo by Amin Safaripour   The Balcony Gardener and Madame Dupont sat side by side on the balcony in the clear light of a Paris spring morning. It was close…

Photo by Lance Anderson   The times I remember us throwing Smiley out the hatch on that plane always come two different ways. In the first, we all heave to…

The Balcony Gardener loved April. Spring had arrived again, and with it came a quiet accumulation of ideas for the new season’s balcony garden. April did not require announcement. It…

Photo by Paul Steuber   March arrives as it always does—with ambition slightly out of proportion to available space. The Balcony Gardener draws up three lists. Seeds to order. Seeds…

The Balcony Gardener and her beloved dog Teddy were enjoying a patch of late January sun that had wandered, briefly, into February’s jurisdiction. Teddy lay with his chin on his…

Photo by Coffee with Joshua   By December, the city had folded itself into its winter shape—narrower streets of light, colder breath rising from the river, and the faint metallic…

Photo by Tim Foster   The Balcony Gardener noticed the frost before she felt the chill. A silvery film on the railing, the kind that makes you pause before disturbing…