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
beaches
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
MY DAY OFF FROM THE SETI PROJECT • by Deven D Atkinson
All those endless days spent analyzing and listening and fretting over every radio signal captured by Arecibo had broken my enthusiasm. The drone of static rising and fading; the computer graphics spiking and falling; the unrelenting sameness of it all… Continue Reading
LISTEN • by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley
Her shoes lay in the sand behind her. She dipped her toe in the water and stared out at the horizon. “I know it sounds awful but it wasn’t actually that simple…” Her voice trailed off. She paused, sighed, and… Continue Reading
TRAVEL BLUES • by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley
The reflection of the setting sun shimmered on the Mediterranean. Her face glowed in the rose-gold light as she dug a toe into the sand. “I like it here.” “It’s not practical.” His back was to the water, his eyes… Continue Reading
A TRYST • by Jennifer Berney
When I found her, she was nearly frozen from the sea, blue-lipped and chattering. Her hair was dripping, and she’d been swimming in her underwear. She had huddled into herself halfway between dunes and water, and couples angled their paths… Continue Reading