WE • by Jenn Ashton
I’m not sure how long Henry has been using my peppermint foot butter as a deodorant. I can’t blame him; the packaging is almost identical to his stick. I mentioned it to him and he shrugged and rubbed it under… Continue Reading
Romance
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
FOUR MINUTES • by Sarah Wagner
Two raindrops race down the glass. I watch, silently calling their progress like it’s the Preakness. The man across from me waxes faux-poetic about my shape, my skin, my eyes. I don’t have words, they’re swallowed by his voice before… Continue Reading
SECRET VALENTINE • by Laura Besley
From: MillieTo: All StaffDate: 07/02/20, 11:32Subject: Secret Valentine’sHello everyone!After the success of Secret Santa (thanks for my box of scrumptious chocolates!), I’ve decided to launch a Secret Valentine. It’s just for fun. Names out of a hat. Come by my… Continue Reading
A VALENTINE’S FEAR • by Jameyanne Fuller
The line for the fear merchants stretched three blocks. Juana’s hand sweated in Nick’s as they inched forward. She’d sold fear once, the night she crossed the border. It wasn’t courage like the No Fear Association claimed. It was a… Continue Reading
CUPID ME • by John Tinney
Back then, I imagined my postman was Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he’d have a massive coronary and die under the weight of all my Valentine’s cards. Why Arnie had to die was best left for the pioneering Austrian therapist I’ve still… Continue Reading
RORSCHACH’S CEILING • by Samantha Bryant
“There’s a face in it.” “A face? I don’t see it.” She pointed at the shape on the ceiling above their bed, twisting her wrists and fingers like a belly dancer as she gestured to the parts. “See? Look. It’s… Continue Reading
THE DRESS • by Jennifer Brophy
Getting Dressed Across town, there is a woman trying to decide what to wear on a first date. All of her clothes are scattered around the room. She holds two dresses up to herself in front of the mirror. She… Continue Reading
THE PINES • by Madeline Gressman
The fire had been burning for eight hours, but the earth was still not soft enough. Just as Harold predicted. It had been an unforgiving winter: sub-zero temperatures for months, ice storms, and buckets of snow. It had taken Harold… Continue Reading
NPCs • by Edward Ashton
“Hey,” Dana says. “I think I just had an epiphany.” We’re sitting on the roof of her apartment building, feet dangling over a ninety-foot fall to the darkened alley below. Across the river, the full moon squats fat and orange,… Continue Reading