SHARDS • by Tim Seyfert
I’m alone at the beach. The sky is grey and the sea is blown-out mush. I walk where the sand is dry and scan for sea glass. I scoop up some shards of brown, a few white and one that’s… Continue Reading
beaches
FRESH FISH • by Will Hearn
Another windblown day, the humps in the sand like mountains. There’s a scent in the breeze, fresh fish, or maybe shrimp. The smell came from near the water, but it would be worth it if he got there before any… Continue Reading
SLOPPY JOE CRAZY • by Kristen Petry
I gasp at the sound of my brother’s voice. Everything changed after he went missing. Dad died from grief and Mom shriveled into herself. Tommy went to law school and stayed gone, Kate ran wild with men and drugs, and… Continue Reading
MAHUIKA • by Eugen M. Bacon
SHE FELL from the sky, a daughter of the sun. She was many forms, how fiery. In Phoenicia, she wore a flame of feathers and lived as a phoenix. In Persia the thunderbird built a nest and burst into fire,… Continue Reading
A PICNIC ON THE BEACH • by Owen Archlimb
I didn’t like to see her go like that, but perhaps it was for the best. Drowning’s meant to be a good way, but I don’t see how. All that salt water up the nose, and the panic. Though she… Continue Reading
OMA • by Ashley E. Kauffman
Jenna opened the small box at the bottom of Oma’s closet. She began to cry when she saw the pair of bright pink sneakers, which she had loved as a child, was embarrassed by as a teenager, and respected her… Continue Reading
SHORELINE • by RK Biswas
The wind blew in from the ocean. It bit and stung all that were in its way. The thin man’s nipples pushed up through his rough cotton shirt. His face was pinched beneath his beard’s wiry bush. But his hair… Continue Reading
PUNCH BUGGY • by J.C. Towler
Everyone knows the four rules of Punch Buggy: • If you start the game, you can’t be the first to quit. • Convertible bugs are worth two punches. • No blocking hits. • When playing with a girl, you don’t… Continue Reading
WATER’S EDGE • by Sarah Hilary
It’s gritty at the shore, gets between the toes. The lake waits, the skin of it blistering under a low-slung sun that makes mirrors of flat pebbles, the fastenings on bikinis, metal bottle tops. You think you see the sun’s… Continue Reading
SEA SHELL • by Robin Vandenberg Herrnfeld
Amanda hasn’t slept all night and now, up at dawn, the thought comes loud and clear: It was a mistake not to go. “You really missed something,” Sarah had said over the phone yesterday. “Most of the old crowd showed… Continue Reading