fiction 5/7

Feb 5, 202315 min read

"Is" by Joe Frleta

### “Yes, life is life,” Charles said. “Except when it …” ### “Isn’t” ### Charles pauses here, to which Cassandra says: “Okay, so what...

Jan 22, 20231 min read

fiction

"APRICITY" by Enchi

The bumble bee did not know that winter had begun until he woke in the mouth of a tulip, her petals glossed over with ice. He bumbled...

Dec 26, 20229 min read

fiction

“Olalla” by Stephen Myer

It had been nearly a century since my last visit to the chateau. My light carriage, drawn by two dappled steeds, ascended the steep,...

“A Standing Ovation for the Scorpion in the Toilet Bowl” by Catherine O’Brien

Dec 26, 20224 min read

fiction

“A Standing Ovation for the Scorpion in the Toilet Bowl” by Catherine O’Brien

These days she would accept all or any correspondence. His utterances are a dying dialect. The last thing he had told her was ‘I do not...

"How Quincy Lost An Election" by Wayne McCray

Dec 11, 202210 min read

fiction

"How Quincy Lost An Election" by Wayne McCray

Friday afternoon became interesting following a hard knock at the backdoor. I rose up from the kitchen table, abandoning my hot coffee...

"The Permanent Marks left by the Broken Hearts Out on the 405" by Steve Passey

Dec 11, 20229 min read

fiction

"The Permanent Marks left by the Broken Hearts Out on the 405" by Steve Passey

I Southern California smells of honeysuckle, pomelo, orange blossoms, lavender and the Pacific Ocean, always the ocean. All scents are...

Nov 27, 20229 min read

short story

“Got Milk?” By Wayne McCray

My girlfriend, Jolene, took it and ran with it, but I figured I should let her know. Too bad an argument ensued and it ended abruptly....

Nov 27, 20224 min read

fiction

“Paranoia” by Tejaswinee Roychowdhury

We thought you’d remember us. Trisha dreamt her kid tumbled down the stairs and opened the flesh below his knees. She’d woken up,...

Nov 13, 202221 min read

fiction

“Red Maples” by Paul Ilechko

A crimson mist, shading to pinkish-brown, burnished the tips of the red maple trees, but otherwise it was still late winter drab as...

Nov 13, 20228 min read

humor

"Appetite" by Mike Hickman

Matt hoped to God he wasn't wearing the Cookie Monster T-shirt. While he might be able to afford one or two minor embarrassments today,...

Oct 20, 20223 min read

fiction

“The Roach” by Swetha Amit

I saw him again, looking as creepy as ever. Dark brown silhouette and protruding antennae that towered his large eyes. He crawled with...

Oct 20, 202214 min read

fiction

"Intruders" by Edward Hagelstein

Germit Honely lopes out of jail into the sun, ready to leave the place in his rear-view for good this time. He side-eyes the squat brick...

"In Which Jeffrey Attempts to See a Film" by William Taylor Jr.

Oct 17, 202210 min read

fiction

"In Which Jeffrey Attempts to See a Film" by William Taylor Jr.

Jeffrey was walking along Larkin Street through San Francisco's Tenderloin district towards the Civic Center Plaza. He was stopped at a...

"Eternal Recurrence on Endless Loop, Over and Over Again" by Steve Passey

Oct 2, 202216 min read

fiction

"Eternal Recurrence on Endless Loop, Over and Over Again" by Steve Passey

Vanessa logged out and picked up her keys. Garrett, a “team leader” was leaning into the next cubicle and his lower body was blocking her...

"Against the Current" by Brittany Ackerman

Oct 2, 202225 min read

fiction

"Against the Current" by Brittany Ackerman

I dress in the dark every morning for school. I don't want to wake up Lanny, who makes his own schedule for his marketing business that...

Sep 18, 20224 min read

fiction

“Serving Sushi” by Tim Frank

A small crowd of England soccer fans nursed plastic cups of local German beer while singing God Save the Queen. A couple of hours before...

"For Girl X With Love James Wu" by Christine Kwon

Sep 18, 20229 min read

fiction

"For Girl X With Love James Wu" by Christine Kwon

He stood outside the Guggenheim, panicking. The light was about to change and his thoughts raced down 5th Avenue like a yellow taxi. God,...

Aug 21, 20225 min read

fiction

"Fraud" by Clyde Liffey

I sit at my desk, a nice one – yellow wood, not in the best condition but well-made – and think, “I’m a fraud.” This has nothing to do...

Jul 24, 202210 min read

fiction

"Oxen at the Well" by Ted Morrissey

Where could she be? It was snowing. Hard. And his sister was somewhere in the storm. Papa went to fetch the doctor—Mama’s baby was...

"Tupperware Can Do Almost Anything" by Julia Halprin Jackson

Jul 10, 20228 min read

fiction

"Tupperware Can Do Almost Anything" by Julia Halprin Jackson

“Believe it or not,” I say, hoisting the ice chest over my head, “I cannot control the river.” “Yeah, whatever,” Samantha says. “Just get...