The Noctrium Library

The town I grew up in could boast exactly one remarkable event. The accident of 2004. It resulted in the indefinite closure of Stover Road and a stricter screening process for new bus drivers. No one ever lived on Stover Road, but it was a key stretch of pavement, linking our small town with the […]

It was some time past eleven, as far as he could guess, and Jacob was regretting the decision to ride through the night. Beside him, Phillip rode with his head bent against the wind, his dark riding cloak plastered with snow. They’d both agreed to this plan, hoping to reunite with their families all the […]

I braked at the stoplight and rested my forehead against the steering wheel. What could I do? The three appointments I’d scheduled had been fruitless. My two impromptu tours likewise. This city was just too expensive, even for the—I’d thought at the time—generous salary from my new job. But that salary was contingent on my […]

This happened back when my son, Zach, was less than a year old. As you can imagine, we had a lot of baby toys scattered around the house. Many of them were electronic, including a plastic book that played songs as you turned the pages. I awoke one morning to the robotic refrain of “Are […]

I have a lot of fond memories from my teenage years. This is not one of them. I’d just finished my sophomore year of high school. To celebrate the start of our summer freedom, my younger brother and I spent the evening around a bonfire in the backyard, burning old homework assignments and roasting marshmallows […]

The storm of the morning of December twenty-sixth was predicted by no meteorologist. We had no time to prepare. In the still-dark hours, I woke to the ghostly light of moon and stars reflected off snow. The radio, left on overnight to serenade us with lingering Christmas carols, now played only static. It was frigid […]