B95- Marin Gothic by Evelyn Erdmann

-the tourists come in the summer like bugs, like wasps and mosquitoes. they congregate in the cities and beaches. you never see them in your town. when you pass them on the street, you are sure you have seen them somewhere. they do not meet your eyes.

-roadkill lines the roads. you have never hit anything. no one you know has hit anything. the vultures only come during the day. the dead things are gone by the end of the night.

-there are spiders everywhere. everyone is scared of them. no one says why. you stay away from anywhere with spiderwebs.

-no one goes to the park after night falls.

-the beaches are beautiful. you can always find flotsam or sea glass. when the water is low, you can see old shipwrecks. there are no rocks in the bay.

-there is an old brick factory. twice a year, thousands of birds fill it. they only ever go to one chimney. everyone says it is still in use. you have never seen anyone use it. there is no smoke. bricks wash up on the beach often.

-ants come inside when it rains. there are traps everywhere. it does not discourage them.

-the coyotes howl when it storms. you leave windows open to listen to the rain. you close them when it gets dark. the thunder sounds like planes overhead. it sounds like growling.

-no one goes out on stormy nights.

-you know everyone in your class. you know everyone at your school. you do not know the people in your neighborhood.

-there is a house down the street bigger than all the others. it is dirty. some of the windows are broken. the lawn is never mowed. there is a man who lives there. you have never seen him, but the neighbors assure you he is there. they look scared.

-there are fires all the time. once there were three in a month. the papers said it was an arson. they did not say names or ages or genders or species. you do not know.

-sometimes the dogs bark at night. you do not open the door. you shut them away and keep the cats inside. you find dead birds at the doorway anyway.

-no one ever sees the postman. the boxes always come on time.