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Rain Requiem by Lynda Webb
You left me behind, walking with Brahms in your ears. Outside, nature’s conductor slashed her baton and created bayside darkness with one stroke. Thunder growled and I thought it was the garbage truck’s percussive movement down the salt and sand packed macadam. Facing the Gulf, the ocean pranced, cat paws of white foam hitting the…
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The Festival by Jeff Lewis
There was a festival that day,I don’t remember what it was called.I remember the soft curve of her cheek,I remember the way she padded gentlyacross the earthas though afraid of leaving a permanent mark.I remember her cries of delightas I won the little stuffed tigerafter seven futile attempts.I remember how she carried it in her…
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The Road by E.E. King
I didn’t mean to kill her – not really. But it’s hardly an excuse- especially because I’d been hired to do exactly that. I can still see the moment of death – I probably always will. It was less gruesome and more final than I’d expected… if I’d expected anything. Truth be told, the…
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Catching Up by Edward Ahern
She was halfway into her seat before he looked up from his phone. “Hello, Frank. They’ve changed the name of the restaurant. Antoine’s now.” She talked too quickly. “Hello Rebecca, you look great.” She picked up her menu, reddening slightly. “Sorry I’m late. Have you been waiting long?” “No, just got here.…
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El Valle de Cafe by Jonathan Ferrini
Dearest Yvette: I write to you beneath a candle on a small desk within my spartan quarters. It’s late in the evening, and all is quiet, except for the subtle melody of the tropical birds awaiting sunrise. The delicate flame dances about creating gorgeous amber hues and shadow images suggesting black caverns reminiscent of…
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Spartacus Along the Silk Road by Eric Smith
Prelude:It is better to invite one thousand sinners to a party of saints than unleash one neutral man among the good. The opposite of course is not true. Jaguars, ambivalent loners, unlike proud lions, are always restless until they pounce. China. She’s jealous… When China wants a new religion, the world builds roads. Wild…
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The Digger by Marco Etheridge
Digging for old bones is best done by night and the digger knows this. He wields his shovel under starlight and moonlight, serenaded by the nocturnal creatures of the Missouri woods. The night is ebony edged in silver, but it ain’t quiet. Whippoorwills mourn their own name from maple and sycamore trees. A barred…
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Goddess of the Beach by Zack Taft
She settled herself into the warm sand; her eyes closed for a moment. It felt like a dream. She was barefooted and wearing a red dress, a floppy straw hat, and oversized sunglasses. “Grampa, will you stop that?” He was doing an embarrassing dance on the white sand, mumbling to himself. His shorts seemed…
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A Victorian Affair by Perry Genovesi
When Ellen landed at the tunnel’s end, she noticed, under clouds of soot, a lone rowhome. It appeared like the thousands across the city – three stories, all brick, cornbread-yellow shutters. Each window was dirt-coated or bathed in shadow. What was it doing here, in the ruins of an old subway station? As she edged…
