OUR FATHER by Jesus Francisco Sierra
OUR FATHER
Our Father…
It’s time to ring the church bells. I’m waiting for my turn and I’m starting to get nervous. I’ve been coming up with excuses not to climb up the tower. It’s gloomy,...
LIGHT by Sandra M. Perez
She couldn’t remember the last time she stood in the light. “Always look for the light,” he told her. “The pool of light is here, where you dance your solo.” His eyes reflected magic...
UNLEARN by Francis Duffy
Of course, gender reassignment wasn’t available then. Not that I was unhappy with having been born male. Rather, it was the latter half of the nature-versus-nurture dichotomy that vexed me.
My abnormality surfaced early.
I’d ridden...
THE BUSINESS OF SHELLS by Craig Dobson
The Business of Shells
I sold seashells by the seashore. The same shore where they could be picked up for free. Except for holiday makers, though, or those with time on their hands – lonely...
I LOVE YOU LIKE BROKEN GLASS by Frances Wiedenhoeft
How many times had I scrubbed until my fingertips were raw and blood trickled into the wash water? Any witness to this stooped washerwoman would have seen the emotional precipice I teetered on.
First,...
LUZIA’S DOWRY by Jozef Leyden
Luzia’s Dowry
The plane bringing me from Copenhagen to Lisbon was half-empty. So was the ‘Arrivals’ at the Lisbon-International on that late warm October evening when I came across her ̶ my inamorata-siren ̶ for...
THE WAITRESS by Clark Zlotchew
You know, people really suck. I’ll give you an example: Here I am, just me on duty at the Come‘N Get It Eatery. The place is just filled with all these people wanting to...
GALAH OR GREY by Bashir Cassimally
He is a parrot, our neighbour's bird. But don't ever call him one. He becomes touchy and will reply emphatically from inside his cage that he is an African Grey. I took note of...
THE WELL OF THE ENLIGHTENED by João Santana Franco
The Well of the Enlightened
The four men were sitting at the table of the decadent Uighur tavern, eaten by time and dust, full of cobwebs in the ceiling, drinking museles, the Uighur wine, to...
CLOSURE by Jonathan L. Shaffer
The elevator door opened. It was thoroughly unremarkable, as many apartment elevators would be.
A red pleather jacket over a gray hoodie entered, eyes glued to his phone. “Can you push two for me?” he...