Jessica Simpkiss

Jessica Simpkiss lives and works in Virginia Beach, Virginia with her husband and daughter. She is a graduate of George Mason University where she received a degree in Art History. Her work has most recently been published or is forthcoming in the Hartskill Review, Zimbell House Publishing Anthologies and the Virginia Literary Journal, amongst others.

The Keeper of the Keys

Torn clouds scuttled across the sky with the beginnings of the moon’s light dancing behind them as they chased their own broken shadows. The yellow glow and low hum of the city street lamps fluttered and shook, not quite sure if it was their time to shine in the waning daylight. The air had turned cool in the evenings, keeping the large crowds of lookie loos inside the bars or coffee shops up the street from the bridge, only giving them reason to venture out for necessity instead of pleasure walks. The faint sound of moving water purred underneath him, as he sat on a bench near the end of the bridge, waiting and watching out of the corner of his eye. Without fail, he always managed to find one.