Fiction - Year V - Number 38 - July 2020

“Holy Crap!” Caroline screamed, and scrambled back into the air-conditioned house, slamming shut the sliding glass door to the patio. She should have softened her blasphemy to, say, “Crap!” But in her terrible fright,...

The Fireplace I recall that morning with clarity rarely present in my memories. Fallen leaves chased across frosted grass, their paths directed by an unseen force. Church bells cracked the frozen air, marking...

DESI DINNER PARTY When your mom says you’re spending Saturday night at Sunnah Auntie’s house, you groan and try to convince her otherwise. Your mom instructs you to pick out a Pakistani outfit. There’s no...

AN UNCOMFORTABLE RIDE By Jennifer Brewer The cool air blasted into the Town and Country minivan. It was a couple years old now, but I loved my purchase. It fit my family of five, had all...

AT LEAST I KNOW I’M FREE by James Hanna In the first week of Trump’s presidency, something unusual happened in Putnamville, Indiana. Sammy Spigot, a garrulous DJ on the local radio station, started playing only one song....

An Urban Story Margo Price played softly on the radio as Da’Shana and Carol talked about their weeks. “Another glass of Chardonnay?” Carol asked, her blue-green eyes widening, her voice carrying the “a” sound in...

All Those Secrets We Shored Up ALL THOSE SECRETS WE SHORED UP She was talking about Damien again. They were sprawled out by the shore in bikinis, Tati in her white lace set, Ruth in...

ICE CREAM FOR SHERENE Sherene stood on the roof of South Central Bank, where she worked for several years, and thought of her tombstone, envisioning the gray colored “Sherene Turrington”. She hated her name and...

THE POOR WOMAN AND HER DAUGHTERS There once was a very poor unmarried woman by the name of Leticia who had given birth to a second daughter who she named...

EMPIRE ACCESS (“Kiss Me Before You Go”) A Short Story by John Richmond (Copyright © John Richmond 2020) He intended it to be an “in-and-out” sort of trip. Take the 4AM-ish Amtrak Empire Access out of...