Keeping it 100 Micro Chapbook

Keeping It
Micro chapbook by
Members of
Sigma Tau Delta

Table of Contents
Last View of Akrotiri by Sunny Anne Williams 3
Necromancer by Christine Rifkin 4
Graduation by Susan Morton 5
Delivery Boy by Jason Walker 6
Why My Autism Doesn’t Need A Cure by Julia
Stephenson 7
Snow Day, Anyway by Julia Stephenson 8
Driving by Hallie McKnight 9
Untitled by Josephine Davis 10
Author Bios 11

Last View of Akrotiri
By Sunny Anne Williams
Though I have only been drifting along
the edge of unconsciousness, I wake
early. The acrid scent of lava is piercing
on the tongue, stinging against the
nostrils, and this is impossible to ignore,
even in sleep.
The light of the rising sun is just
grazing the stone streets outside my
window, but my people are already
hurrying throughout the village, loading
carts with clay pots full of grains.
In the distance, the sapphire sea meets
the uncanny amber horizon, painting a
blurry line upon which the ships sway,
summoning, waiting to rescue us from
our home.

Necromancer
By Christine Rifkin
There’s the way my life turned out
and the way it should have been. They
lie on opposite poles of the Earth
beneath us. My father, torn to pieces
by a mechanical demon, was trapped
forever in its organs made of steel.
Never able to escape. I should have
listened to my uncle. He tried to teach
me, pull the bile hidden within my
soul. But this metallic tasting word
called “love” stings my throat as I say
it. I prayed someone would look at me.
Give me the emotions I had lost in that
monstrous machine.

Graduation
By Susan Morton
Jamie smiled, remembering his
graduation and how he had scanned
the crowd, but didn’t recognize his
dad. Gone was the orange tie-dye t-
shirt and scruffy beard. Suit and tie!
Keeping tradition, the tie was bright
orange, a salute to his dad’s university,
where Jamie was headed. He never
dreamt that his dad would be dead a
week later. He stared at the empty
suitcase. His impulse was to close it
and place it into storage, but he knew
his dad would be heartbroken. Jamie
decided to start getting organized and
the first thing he packed was an
orange tie-dye t-shirt.

Delivery Boy
By Jason Walker
Jason had written his cell number
on the bill he handed Derek long before
the food arrived. Whether his phone
ever rang didn't really matter; he had
crossed a line he couldn’t un-cross.
“Have a good day.” Derek smiled and
waited a moment longer in the awkward
silence. Jason knew it was his cue but
couldn't remember his line. Derek
turned and headed to his car, glancing
back once just to be sure.
Jason stared for a moment longer,
still speechless, stepped back inside, and
shut the door behind him.
Love, or something like it, would
have to wait.

Why My Autism Doesn’t Need A
Cure
By Julia Stephenson
Autism does not need a cure. It
needs a friend who will accept it. I am
happy to accept it. It makes me
unique. It has helped me in improving
my creative writing and technical
writing skills. It taught me to notice
things such as when my mom
misplaced her phone or keys. It gave
me the creativity, hyper-focus and
skills to self-publish my own books,
and earn three college degrees. It is
why I am a member of two honor
societies. A cure can strip away the
traits that lead us to succeed.

Snow Day, Anyway
By Julia Stephenson
I woke up to the sound of my
alarm clock, then I hit the
snooze button. When I woke up
I realized it was a snow day
anyway. It felt good to cozy up
on my sofa with a book, blanket
and a large mug of French
Vanilla flavored hot tea.

Driving
By Hallie McKnight
I want to tell him I love him so badly. I can
hear the way it might sound if I let it out. I
can feel it sit heavy in my chest. I can feel it
catch in my throat.
I'll count down from three. When I get to
one I'll say it.
Three.
Okay, I'm really going to do it. I've been
thinking about it for days; it's time.
Two.
Oh, God.
One.
He smiles at me. It's perfect; it's time.
I can't.

untitled
By Josephine Davis
Nothing Lia wrote was productive or
interesting, merely an idle action to
keep her hands from wantonly
scratching. She saw her desk was dirty,
so on a Tuesday night she cleaned.
Another Tuesday she saw her desk was
dirty, but she cleaned on a Friday. She
felt a normalcy cleaning on Tuesday
again, the Tuesday of the next week. In
her mind there was a visitor, less like a
lingering stranger and more a passerby
she had seen twice before. The desk
was dirty and she was too. The visitor
became a roommate, became a friend,
became family, became her."

Author Bios
My name is Josephine Davis and I am from the
Texas A&M University - Central Texas chapter of
the Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society.
(Hallie McKnight): I’m an alumni of the Santa
Clara University (class of '13) chapter of Sigma
Tau Delta and I currently teach art and middle
school language arts.
(Susan Morton): I am currently a graduate
student at Southern New Hampshire University.
My name is Christine Rifkin and I am in the
Master's program at Southern New Hampshire
University for English and Creative Writing with a
concentration on Screenwriting. I have recently
become a member of the Alpha Pi Psi chapter of
Sigma Tau Delta at SNHU. I live in Orlando, FL
with my husband and cat.

My name is Julia Stephenson. I am from
upstate NY. I am currently an Alumni from
Southern New Hampshire University. I was
inducted into Sigma Tau Delta Alpha Pi Beta in
2016. I currently enjoy reading, creative writing
and watching a bit of tv.
Jason Walker is a Literature PhD student at
the University of Texas at Dallas. He is also a
Teaching Assistant currently teaching Rhetoric
1302. Jason earned his MA in English from the
University of Texas at Tyler and is a member of
the Epsilon Omega chapter at UTT.
My name is Sunny Anne Williams, and I am a
member of the Alpha Psi Nu chapter of SigTD at
the University of Texas at Dallas, where I am
currently a PhD student with an interest in
individualism, literary theory, and philosophy.
My flash fiction entry received two paws up from
each of my Maine coon cats.