JUST IN CASE • by Izzy Steel
Jeffrey sleeps right on the edge of the mattress, like he might fall out at any moment. I used to worry he would — I still do, I suppose. It would do his bad hip no favours. The space between… Continue Reading
Stories
A SINGLE BREATH • by Rasmenia Massoud
Somewhere between sculpting spray and shampoo, he blips onto my radar. Shiny white hair like a quartz stone. A shabby olive cardigan and standard brown grandpa slacks. In a breath, he levels up from another faceless shadow in the background… Continue Reading
POINTY LITTLE KNIVES • by Matthew Keeley
“There it is!” I pointed and Elsie wriggled back into me. We splashed our feet, soaking the hems of our dresses, giggling and pretend-squirming away. But then we dipped our toes back in, waiting to see it again: slimy skin,… Continue Reading
FLASHING QUEEN • by Meghan Louise Wagner
Madison thought she was something special because her parents bought her a peacock. We were both in eighth grade and lived on opposite sides of a street that dead-ended on the lake. In sixth grade, she told everyone that her… Continue Reading
LOST AND FOUND • by Jill J. Morin
Louisa was washing her hands after spreading yards of mulch when she noticed it: the diamond in her wedding ring was gone. Why hadn’t she taken it off first, or worn gloves? The jeweler eyed the ring’s fractured prong. “Was… Continue Reading
WET SOCKS • by Joshua Stupple
When doctors deliver bad news, they travel in packs. They sweep into the ward, in groups of three or four, to relay test results, to tell you that your course of treatment has been unsuccessful, that some measure of you… Continue Reading
SO SCREAMED THE SILENCE • by Em J Parsley
Bake a loaf of bread for your father, for your mother. If you create enough silent acts, you’ll keep yourself from screaming. Wash the dishes fold the laundry feed the chickens mow the grass plow the barely-thawed soil dig your… Continue Reading
IN THE AI OF THE BEHOLDER • by Soramimi Hanarejima
It’s just another one of those mid-afternoon lulls in the office when a peripheral vision notification pops up. It’s your beauty tracker app telling you that you’ve only gotten 2 instances of beauty so far today. Puzzling, since you know… Continue Reading
A GIRL WITH A SANDCASTLE • by Joy Manné
It was Jaimie’s turn to draw a card. The back of the downturned deck shimmered turquoise in the candlelight in Clara’s darkened bedroom. Turquoise was Jaimie’s favourite colour. As she stared at it, the surface of the card expanded and… Continue Reading
BAD ROOTS • by Jaye Viner
Until my sister decided to become a mother, our lives had been mirror images with five-second delays. I was the first to lose a tooth. She was the first to lose her virginity. In elementary school, we both had abdominal… Continue Reading