Articles by Diana in NoVa
The Goddess, Laughing
The Goddess, Laughing “It’s a boy!” shouted Govind Chiderambam. “My first-born is a boy! Let the celebrations begin! All of New Delhi shall rejoice!” “It’s a boy!” Li Hao bowed before the cradle […]
Yes, it WAS a Wonderful Life!
Imbolc, 2006. L to R, Moira, Beryl, Jenny, and Yrs Truly Looking back, it strikes me as odd that my 33-year-friendship with Beryl began when I met her friend Jenny, rather than with Beryl […]
Ghost Bark
(Excerpt from Rowena Wentworth’s journal) 16 October 2023 I heard it again this morning. It was a bark, just a single bark, but it woke me up from a night’s sleep. I […]
The Shaman’s Magic
“You know you’re the only one of us who can do this.” Gerald Holloway, the chief of the prehistoric archaeological team, was speaking. Grace Ling nodded. She was barely five feet tall, had trouble […]
My Sister Mary, Quite Contrary, Grows No Garden Now
Mary Martin, aged 22, St. Louis, Missouri (circa 1967) Mistress Mary, quite contrary How does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockleshells And pretty maids all in a row. Old English nursery rhyme […]
The Drunken Ladies of the Garden Club
A gift of May flowers hanging from a doorknob It was ironic, thought Sophie Martin, that the eve of her first anniversary—the anniversary of her first year without alcohol—should coincide with the hazard […]
Home to the Heather
The woman in the hospital bed hadn’t spoken for days. She would neither eat nor drink. She was concentrating on the difficult work of dying. Fiona arrived in the morning, her arms full of daffodils. […]
Christmas at Barky Manor
The festive Yuletide table with flowers, bayberry candles, and crackers It was Sister Dear who christened our house “Barky Manor,” because we nearly always had a dog or two running about. […]