FULL OF GRACE by Thomas Carlson
Gloria Delaney sat at her desk as her fourth graders settled in to their math quiz. She’d just begun on the stack of writing assignments she was hoping to correct when she heard...
MOTHER LOVE Nancy Smith Harris
Photo by Nick Fewings~Unsplash
Mother Love
I missed my first high school interview—the one at the Stephens School for Boys—because on her way to pick me up, Mom’s car collided with a semi hauling 300 gallons...
STORMY’S BAR by Doug Smith
Tom’s hospice patient wore a three-piece suit for Tom’s initial visit. In addition to the three-piece suit, Jim wore a freshly pressed white and blue striped shirt and a red tie. His hair was...
THE TRUTH by Tawney Mesick
"I can't believe they got a pastor to come speak at my damn funeral," I said, "Saying shit about how this was an unfortunate event… Yeah, makes it sound like it was an accident....
THIS JOURNEY CALLED LIFE by Kenneth Bastian
“Good afternoon,” Daddy Hooks, said Mark; Hooks opened the door to let him inside. Hooks was Mark’s mentor, since the two met in the military. Hooks was 20 years older than Mark. The...
UNFORTUNATE TIMINGS by Dylan Price
I hummed to the tune of a song stuck in my head that I just couldn’t remember while preparing for the party.
“Jess, can you come here for a second,” said my mom....
BLUISH FINGERS by Milena Galdino
On that night, when Juruna was on his hammock, he read the starts in a different way. Natives in South America have this obsession over the sky and the stars for they are divine....
A CLEAN SLATE by Michael Bryan
A Clean Slate
With his washer at home broken, Rafe decided to do all his laundry at the same time at the Water Whirled laundromat. Rafe Reached into his pocket and felt the tiny ridges...
PROOF THE BOY HAD LIVED by Mike McLaughlin
Stephen Havilland could have avoided the war. At twenty-eight he was already a successful man. His newly minted firm was growing, slowly but steadily. Likewise for his reputation in business and government circles. This...
THE PURPLE FLYING ELEPHANT by Joram Piatigorsky
Charlie, a shoe salesman, jumped out of bed, startled that it was already 8:30. His United Airlines Flight was scheduled for 10:22. Now he didn’t even have time for breakfast. He had set the...