UNDER MY SKIN • by Melody Beacham
When the first one appeared on his hand that morning, he thought it was some kind of weird rash. The biggest part of the rash bubbled up to the size of a dime and was lodged into that soft fleshy… Continue Reading
When the first one appeared on his hand that morning, he thought it was some kind of weird rash. The biggest part of the rash bubbled up to the size of a dime and was lodged into that soft fleshy… Continue Reading
A man lives his life in a field of doors. He spends all his time walking through them. First he goes one way, then he goes back; sometimes he skips around at random. The man wanders through the doors for… Continue Reading
The flares of Nikita’s gown swished as she cat-walked her way to the spotlight in front of the judges. Her gaze swept across the audience, favouring each member with a dazzling smile. Nikita looked stunning. She knew it. So did… Continue Reading
Johnny entered the dining hall for breakfast with his usual shudder. He sat down and the waitress handed him the native-food menu. He glanced at it, knowing perfectly well what was on it, and his stomach churned. Fried planchworms. Targleweed… Continue Reading
“So,” Annie said as she slipped documents from her in-basket into file folders on her desk, “are you gonna come over Saturday night and meet Jim’s brother? He’s just back from Iraq, and he’s gonna move in with us as… Continue Reading
Click. Spin. The young man stood back as the half-dozen mourners drifted away toward their cars. One or two eyed him suspiciously, but he ignored them. He wasn’t in the will, the family had nothing to worry about. She’d left him… Continue Reading
People often assumed I was gay because at age forty-six, I’d never been married, I wear tailored clothes and short hair, and can do heavy labor as well as any man. Sometimes I even promoted the gay image so that… Continue Reading
I’m a friggin’ star, I tell Bev in a telephone call from Istanbul. She laughs just like I knew she would and I ask her to please wait for me. I’m coming back to you, doll, soon as I can.… Continue Reading
The ruins lay before us, crumbling stone buildings covered with moss, abandoned centuries ago. “What about Michael?” Valerie whispered into my ear. “It’s time to make a decision, Dale.” I looked ahead at him, already approaching the outlying buildings of the… Continue Reading
On hearing of the Japanese invasion at Simanggang in 1941, and remembering the scrabble for metal in the last war, Mathie hid every tool he owned behind panels in the roof of his home. This way he calculated he’d have… Continue Reading