The Memory of a Salt Shaker

By Bernard Cox

Bert struggles with the recent loss of his wife Mira. On the morning of his first day back to work, he discovers that the salt in an ordinary salt shaker Mira stole on their honeymoon contains her memories of their time together.

“The Memory of a Salt Shaker” first appeared November 2011 in issue 15 of Up The Staircase Quarterly and was nominated for the 2012 Million Writers Award.

Cover designed by Sabine Krauss
Photo by Robyn Oliver

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bernard Cox
• Release date: Nov 19, 2012
• ISBN: 9780988636705

Bernard Cox

Bernard M. Cox is a graduate of the MFA Creative Writing program at Roosevelt University. He has taught screenwriting, literature and composition; curated an experimental music concert series called FeedBack; ran a staged reading series for screenwriters; and served on the Board of Directors of the University City Arts League in Philadelphia. He is the former Assistant Artistic Director for the Tamale Hut Café Reading Series in North Riverside—thcreadingseries.wordpress.com. His writing has appeared in A cappella Zoo, Blood and Lullabies, Collective Fallout, Crack the Spine, Red Lightbulbs, and Up the Staircase Quarterly. Transplanted once again, Bernard is currently acclimating to the constant, oppressive San Diego sunlight as he is partial to the part-shade conditions of the East Coast and Midwest. When he is not writing, making music, or reading, he is often wandering the countryside looking for insects and dreaming about Philadelphia. Visit him at bernardmcox.wordpress.com.

Book preview

The Memory of a Salt Shaker: a Short Story

by

Bernard M. Cox

Smashwords Edition

Cover designed by Sabine Krauss

Photo by Robyn Oliver

Copyright 2011 by Bernard M. Cox

ISBN 978-0-9886367-0-5

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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The Memory of a Salt Shaker first appeared November 2011 in issue 15 of Up The Staircase Quarterly and was nominated by the editorial staff for the 2012 Million Writers Award.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Dedication

The Memory of a Salt Shaker

A Brief Biography of Bernard M. Cox for Those Who Are Concerned

Dedication

To Robyn

I promise not to make you read sad stories in the morning.

The strange stillness of the house continues to wake Bert even twenty-one days later. Sleep is fitful, but reassuring. Fighting the weight of the covers is difficult. The couch