Category: Fiction
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Burn Down the Rejections by Cithara Patra
Sometimes, I want to burn everything I’ve created into ashes. Let every page go up in smoke, every word turned into dust. Let no one know about my stories. Every poem will cease to exist. After all, that’s what everyone wants. That’s what they claim. I’m not good enough. I’m…
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Holiday Traffic by Victor McConnell
There were three people who could have seen what happened but did not. The road beneath the slope on which the bighorn sheep frolicked curved around a bend in the river, and at that bend there was an eddy that held trout in the shadows, which attracted a fisherman who…
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Raritan by Ronald Micci
Summer swept down from the hills in a sudden burst of rain, bathing the dry leaves in a hot, dreamy soup, wending its way toward the river as it swooshed in slithering streams, catfish clever, flipping and floundering, a rushing torrent of mud froth, gasping for air as it gurgled…
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Scrap Irony by Robert Wexelblatt
It’s been eight years since the state legislature joined twenty-five others by passing a permitless concealed carry law. The bill’s sponsors along with the governor preferred calling it The Constitutional Carry Act as it sounds patriotic and doesn’t include the word “permitless.” Jonah Dowson saved up the birthday money from…
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Christmas Night by Eldora Betsy Lyngdoh
As I stepped out of the car and onto the familiar soil of my hometown, a wave of nostalgia washed over me. The crisp winter air carried the sweet scent of freshly baked cakes and cookies, wafting from my family’s home. It was Christmas Eve, and the excitement was palpable.…
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Kintsugi by Gilles de Luca
It looked a lot like him, the shaggy-haired and tall figure outside of the glass walls, lighting a cigarette, then putting one hand in his pocket. It was Hervé, at least almost him—ninety percent him. Lucien was certain even though he couldn’t see the face. He could tell by looking…
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Soften by Spring by Brittany Eriksen
It was another perfect Sunday and Ana Cabrón barely had time to notice the pink cherry blossoms outside her bay window. The air outside carried the rich scent of cinnamon buns and French-pressed coffee drifting up from the street-level cafés that surrounded her building. The park was in full spring…
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Matches by Hilary Short
I scan the kitchen island. Cake, knife, paper plates, forks. What else am I missing? Candles! Where are the candles? I rummage through the kitchen junk drawer for the candles I bought when I picked up the cake. “Time to sing happy birthday!” I yell over my shoulder.…
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As the Crow Flies by Jaila Jackson
As the crow flies. How odd. As if we fly in straight lines. The wind does not carryour wings in only one direction. Stupid humans. Assuming that nature is so simpleminded as they are. Stupid, stupid. Blowing prairie grass. Blue truck. Farmer John. I know your name. You do…