The Ghost of Mary We-Ha-Kee
I respectfully contribute this story to Camp Eve for Eve’s Fan Garden, in honor of CIT’s and ghosts everywhere.
The Ghost of Mary We-Ha-Kee, by Caragh M. O'Brien, erstwhile CIT
Our camp was haunted. One of my jobs as a CIT at Camp We-Ha-Kee was to make sure the ghost appeared once during each camp session, preferably on a bloody moon. Sometimes, the ghost of Mary We-Ha-Kee walked the forest at night, singing a lonesome tune. Other times, she rode her black and white pinto between… Continue reading
How to be Popular
One of the popular kids invited me to a summer afternoon party at a country club, and despite misgivings, I decided to go. My mom took me shopping on purpose to find an outfit: pale green shorts and a patterned top that matched. This was her idea of what counted for well-dressed and appropriate for the occasion, and I trusted her because A. I had zero fashion sense of my own, and B. I wanted to fit in.
My mom dropped me off outside the club. Sounds… Continue reading
Read Anything Good Lately?
I read for fun. I love to drop into a good story or follow a curious argument. Some books I devour fast, like a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, and some I savor slowly, like the chocolate cappuccino brownies my sister made lately with my daughter, two nieces and two nephews. The one I ate was rich, smooth, full of careful love, and I can still taste it.
It's easy and free to catalogue your library on Goodreads.
My favorite place to read? The hammock in… Continue reading
The Pink Bedroom
My girlhood bedroom had pink ballerina wallpaper, six mirrors, six closets, and two windows overlooking the Mississippi River Valley.
One closet was devoted to dress-up clothes, and as it was positioned over our laundry basket, the dress up and dirty clothes often mixed and had a similar scent of wood and sweat. A favorite, satiny dress we wore through until it was threadbare, and kept wearing with various sashes and pointy-toed high heels.
We taped the notices of our theater productions and our drawings on the walls. We… Continue reading
Secret Summer Crush
I knew this girl once. She still won’t tell you his name, but he was older, and cute, and he played volleyball at the resort when her family took the boat over every summer evening to play. This guy, he teased her, and joked with her older brothers, and she had to pretend she wasn’t looking at him and listening to him all the time. She had to serve the ball, knowing he was watching. She got to watch him play. Sometimes he was captain… Continue reading
The Ozone and Ice Cream Sodas
It’s been hot, but whenever I feel like complaining, I think of all the people who haven’t had power this week and I imagine what they’ve endured without air conditioning. Then I wonder if running my air conditioner will deplete the ozone layer more and give us worse summers in the future. Then I look up stuff on the ozone layer and discover ozone-depleting chemicals have been banned from home air conditioners since the Montreal Protocol was signed in 1989. The only snag is, it’ll take 50… Continue reading
Ari & Milo, my serial novel, is now up on Wattpad! I drew illustrations to go with each chapter, and best of all, it’s free! Because of problematic themes, this novel is for mature readers age 17+.
Book Trailer for Promised