Knit One, Purl Two

by Julie Brandon
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The wind chimes near the front porch swing clanged in the breeze. Beth pulled her dad’s old sweater tighter around her. She remembered the Christmas Mom had given it to him. All those hours knitting while he was at work so she could surprise him. He’d said he loved it. Towards the end, he’d hold it, running his fingers along the rows of yarn.  

“See here?” he’d ask her. “This is where she dropped a stitch.” He’d stroke it and smile.  

Although he’d forgotten everything else, he never forgot the dropped stitches. Beth touched them, wishing she could forget, too. 

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Julie Brandon is a playwright, and poet from the Chicago area. Her work has appeared in Bewildering Stories, Altered Reality, Corner Bar Magazine, Witcraft and Bright Flash Literary Review among others. Julie's poetry collection "My Tears, Like Rain," was published in June 2024.

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