FISHER • by Mike Weitz
My dog caught a fish once. We were at a pond out by the ravine. I was on the bank looking for frogs and turtles, tip-toeing over the soft ground so as not to muddy my new tennis shoes. She… Continue Reading
family
AFTER THESE MESSAGES • by Brian Michael Riley
“The only information I can give you about the episode,” said the rep, “is that its title is ‘My Dirty Little Secret’.” Helen stood paralyzed in her kitchen as the phone call’s initial excitement swerved into a loop de loop… Continue Reading
FAMILIAR OBJECTS • by Julie McNeely-Kirwan
He spoke as soon as she reached the kitchen. “You go through the boxes on the table. Kimmie left those for you to get rid of.” “Okay, Papa.” The clean-out had begun. Her mother’s things were being sorted and awarded… Continue Reading
BIRDIE • by Lisa Ahn
The third year of drought left Birdie motherless and mute. For months she’d listened as her parents argued over water, whether small reserves should go to mama’s flower business or the horses. In the end, as hard as it would… Continue Reading
A HOUSE UP IN SMOKE • by L.M Brown
Michelle dried her hands on her apron and took it off, while her brother Eugene remained ensconced in the living room and was probably glancing at his watch every few seconds. His fourteen-year-old son Andre was nearly an hour late.… Continue Reading
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO TO YOU: AN ORAL ESSAY TO MY NEWBORN DAUGHTER THROUGH THE WINDOW OF THE MATERNITY WARD AT 3 AM • by Sam Rebelein
Your mom actually likes her family. I was just thinking about that. It was the first thing I loved about her. I loved how simple it seemed, and how much it made me ache. See, we met at a bar.… Continue Reading
DUCKPOND DAYS • by Rosalie Kempthorne
They tell me off for her these days. Because she’s big for her age. Mirror-image, polar opposite of what my grandmother told my mother. I don’t overfeed her. She just is what she is. But I know what they mean.… Continue Reading
MORPHOMETESIS • by Michael Allen Rose
I saw it while taking out the garbage, the biggest beetle I’d ever seen. It lay on its back, black and shiny like plastic wrap. The insect kicked its segmented legs in the air like a futile attempt to ride… Continue Reading
THE CANARY • by Mario Aliberto III
Every day after morning chores, after kissing his mother goodbye, after leaving his little brother and sister to sleep comfortably and dream a little longer, Felix swallows a cold dipper of water from the well and trudges the long miles… Continue Reading
HOLIDAY HOPE • by Savana Lee
The winter air ached in her throat. She pulled her scarf tighter and wished for more functional gloves. He had said these ones were delicate just like her. Leather with long barely-lined fingers. She bent them at the knuckle. “Are… Continue Reading