ZERO IS THE SUM • by Rebecca Roland
Four is the number of gunmen who enter the library where she’s taken her son for story time. Four is the age of her son, who will soon be five, if he lives through this day. Four is the number… Continue Reading
parenting
IMPRINT • by Sarah L. Yoon
I had hoped for an easy Saturday, but our toddler started yelling at 5am again. My husband Hyun and I dragged through the morning, playing a groggy game of bumper cars in the kitchen as coffee dribbled into the carafe.… 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
BLUFFDALE • by Natasha Mileusnic
The look on my son’s face was undisguised disgust. Hunched over in the noisy diner, Ben shook his head, his mouth twisted in a scowl. I offered a wan smile to our waitress as she replenished my coffee, wishing I… Continue Reading
ADVENTURES OF THE JOYNER-PALSEY FAMILY • by Stephan James
Route 160 out of Durango runs crooked and dusty past Mesa Verde National Park, and that’s where the first fight of the day erupts. Asher is apparently on his sister’s side. “Mo-om!” Ellie pleads. “Make him move!” Justine, from her… Continue Reading
THE RED CARDINAL’S VISIT • by Lisa Tang Liu
Tommy bolted out of the parking garage elevator as soon as the door opened. A man waiting outside the elevator stood with mouth agape as he watched the toddler fly past him. I dashed after my son. Clad in a… Continue Reading
REBIRTHDAY • by Robert C. Weissenberg
Horrified to learn that his birthday burger used to moo, Federico decided to atone for his crime and restore the cow to life. He went to the carniceria and bought as much beef as a hundred bucks (all his birthday… Continue Reading
MAMA KNOWS EVERYTHING • by Suzannah Gilman
Laura was on the phone with her boyfriend when the baby let out a sharp wail. She rushed down the hall, picked up her crying daughter from the crib, cooed “There, sweetie, it’s okay.” Then she saw blood dripping from… Continue Reading
CRAFT PROJECT • by Lindsey Duncan
Cortrea circled the planet in her workshop, comparing the results to the blueprint. A piping voice interrupted her. “Mommy, look what I did!” “Not now, Rhei.” Cortrea frowned, deepening the east sea with a touch of her hand. She shooed… Continue Reading
BIRTHDAY • by Mary E. Lowd
“If you could do anything in the world for your birthday — anything at all — what would you do?” My daughter, Layla, mirrors the question that I asked her last month about her birthday when I was looking for… Continue Reading