The hot breath of two AM ghosts over my stomach. There is a drop of sweat on point in every pore, an army ready to advance over my skin’s desert in the dark. His pillow burns with once-familiar absence. Next… Continue Reading
The king had three daughters who loved to bake. His girls had been raised with everything except their mother who died in childbirth. The king wanted them to marry powerful men and introduced them to noblemen. None of the men… Continue Reading
When the foreman hands you the pink slip, it isn’t actually pink. And you work hard to make the muscles in your face stay exactly as they are. You’re getting screwed, sure, but the last thing you want to do… Continue Reading
There was no middle ground — only do or die. And for Captain Bartholomew Quasar, it was never a good day to die. “Orders, sir?” Chief of security Gruber stood back to back with the captain, faced by a gang… Continue Reading
Listen to “Nikki Comes Home” by Christopher Owen, read by Folly Blaine: [display_podcast] Christopher Owen lives in Texas with his wife and two cats. His work has appeared at Daily Science Fiction, Fried Fiction, Mystic Signals and other places. He… Continue Reading
She loved her son just as he was. She watched him, still thick-limbed, thick-handed, thick-cheeked as he ran across the lawn, weaving unsteadily past rose bushes, topiary, and a few scattered statues of children. He toddled along on thick feet… Continue Reading
“I have never met anyone actually named Sheila,” the Australian guy says. “I didn’t think it was a real name.” “Shelly,” she says for the third time. “My name is Shelly.” Not like she believes his stupid story. No one… Continue Reading
The second thing I asked my fairy godmother for was a cookie, the kind my mother used to make. At first she didn’t understand me. “I told you, I can’t do that sort of thing,” she said. And then, “Oh,… Continue Reading
Top ten reasons Cindy asked Brian for a divorce tonight: 10) She turned 48 last week. She understands that 48 isn’t exactly the same as 40 or 50 in terms of nice, round ages when people tend to realize they’re… Continue Reading
William and Alice huddle in the entranceway of a church in Vilnius’s old town, taking shelter from the downpour hammering the cobbles. Wiser people walk by with umbrellas while others take a more ersatz approach to protection, holding magazines and… Continue Reading