BLUE BLOOD MOON • by Dianne Sefcik
Jim Oldman stood at the top of the world, watching the immense arc of the moon crest the horizon and rise into a sky that was indigo and would soon deepen to black. It was a special moon. A super… Continue Reading
death of a spouse
LUNAR SEAS • by Myra King
Alkina opens wide one eye against the cold steel of her late husband’s telescope and remembers on a clear night, less than three months ago, Mare Fecunditatis, appearing so close she would have sworn water lay there. That morning he’d… Continue Reading
LIFETIME WARRANTY • by Elle Hurley
Paul never liked the refrigerator. His husband had been the one who wanted stainless steel. “But fingerprints wipe right off this one,” he explained when Paul pointed to an eggshell model across the showroom. The refrigerator had drawers for everything… Continue Reading
MOVING ON • by Meryl Schwartz Baer
My paddle glides through tranquil waters, reflecting my image but obscuring what lies beneath. A fish jumps skyward then plunges into the swampy depths, startling me out of my trance. I look around. Everyone is still here, slinking through the… Continue Reading
THE HEALING TREE • by Nate Ellis
The autumn’s morning fog has thinned to steam by the time Roland Adder’s rusted-out-red pick-up reaches the grove’s edge, dilapidated horse trailer in tow. Beneath swaying skeleton-finger branches, maple and oak leaves crackle under his bowlegged gait as he plods… Continue Reading
TO LIVE AGAIN • by Clint Lowe
I glance at the photograph of my wife, then step outside ready to meet the other woman. Rain pours onto the roof of my porch sounding an accusing hum. Rain. Is that a sign? It was raining the day I… Continue Reading
SELFIE • by Rollin T. Gentry
I’ll readily admit that I was drunk the first time I saw my wife’s ghost. My friends had taken me to O’Shaughnessy’s after Karen’s funeral, and yes, I was planning on getting solid, blackout drunk. What I wasn’t planning on,… Continue Reading
BASTION • by Robert L. Perrine
Thunder rumbled overhead as Beaumont Whitley sat reclined in his chair, enjoying a pipe and a good book. Glancing up, he noticed a shadowed figure creep past the window. Beaumont closed the novel and set his Meerschaum aside. Would it… Continue Reading
THE WEAK FORCE • by Adam R. Shannon
Cara just left and already the house is in ruins. Dishes rise in tetris piles on every countertop. Mark doesn’t remember eating off them. The fridge hums to itself, dumb and empty. “I’m the fastidious one,” he tells the cat,… 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