NEXT by John Young
Since her death six months earlier, all sanity for Graham has been compressed within the contours of challenges, bright, tightly bordered oases of purpose and achievement in a world, flat and grey and devoid...
YOUNG MAN’S SLAVE by Bo Fisher
Young Man’s Slave
There’s a security car that passes the house every three hours. It makes a slow left hand turn about the cul-de-sac at the end of Poplar Hill Loop before retracting its path...
BAR THE DOOR by Carolyn R. Russell
Bar the Door By Carolyn R. Russell
I received the emailed query just before my nightly rounds: lock up the front door, turn off the house lights, check the thermostat, bar the rear slider door...
INTIMATE by Susie Gharib
Intimate
“I wanted to intimate something and not to be intimate,” I explained with a bitter grin.
He always boasted about his excellent command of English but that sex-charged adjective that resembled a verb he had...
SCIENCE PROJECT JOURNAL by Robert Dukelow
Science Project Journal
Results of a Giant Sequoia Gene Spliced to a Lima Bean Plant
Introduction
Mr. Johannsen, our science teacher, told us if we wanted to earn an A+ this year we needed an...
THE CASUAL THINKER by Marcus Berkemeier
The Casual Thinker
Many consider Samantha to be my best girlfriend since we’ve known each other for at least five years and, most weekends in Los Angeles, we are...
ELLA by T. M. Boughnou
Ella
by T. M. Boughnou
“What?” the man heard the mother demand sharply and emphatically of her young daughter. “Tell me—where did you get that from? Who told you that?” She...
DEEP WATER by Sheila Kinsella
DEEP WATER
Yellow flowered gorse flecks the hill as I climb up to Lyme Cage. As I reach the summit, the wind fair rips my hair from its roots. It’s hard to breathe when you’re...
PLEASANTNESS by Peter Able
Pleasantness
by Pete Able
I took my wife out on the town. It was the same old town but a new restaurant we hadn’t been to before. An experience that I hoped would slightly expand our...
IN ROTATION by Zach Murphy
In Rotation
Aria caught the city bus as the sky donned a pinkish glow before the day’s final gasp. Her daughter Millie sat on her lap, gripping her wrinkled hospital scrubs — the ones with...