By Steven Christopher McKnight “Fare Thee Well, Basket Face” placed fifth in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2020 Fall Fiction Contest. You see a guy at a coffee shop. He’s simple-looking. Nice hair. Good build. Impeccable forearms. His face is featureless, save for the fact that it’s made of interwoven wicker….
by Ben Jackson “Love in the Cheap Seats” placed first in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2019 Fall Fiction Contest. On the last day of October, Al Fine sat with his wife in the shadow of the Budweiser sign. He had first purchased these tickets, high in the bleachers of Fenway…
by E. M. Francisco “The Thing in My Closet” placed second in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2019 Fall Fiction Contest. It’s like this every night. First, I open my closet to get my pajamas. I ignore the inhuman corpse hanging from the bar in between my shirts, despite the fact…
by Destiny Rinder “The Houses on the Sea” placed third in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2019 Fall Fiction Contest. “Where’s your mother, Mia?” “She went to the houses on the sea.” * * * Greyson Beach hasn’t changed much over the last ten years. Fiery red crabs still scurry across the large,…
by Clover Autrey “Forgotten Promise” placed fourth in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2019 Fall Fiction Contest. A grandfather should not outlive his grandchild. Hans squeezed the tiny stuffed lamb, no larger than his age-spotted hand, and brought it to his lips. Nadine’s scent of strawberry shampoo lingered in the plush…
by Dotty Weaver “The Dunes of Dawn” placed fifth in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2019 Fall Fiction Contest. Following the sun’s daily retreat to low western skies, the beach becomes a dark and ominous place. Purple shadows, then silky black curtains drift across the sand from the horizon, shrouding the…
by Sue Ellen Snape She has blood on hands, blood down her bodice, the stench of blood up her nose. The hem of her skirt is drenched a dark sticky red. She’s not one to shrink from the sight of blood, oh no. Lopping the head off a chicken comes…
by Michael Horton “What scares you most?” She is hugging her knees with both arms, her head slung back so far it looks like it should hurt. After thinking and looking at her for any hint, he says, “Dying.” “No,” she says and waves one arm like she is erasing…
by Mary Wroten “David’s Cookies” placed first in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2018 Fall Fiction Contest. David was a fastidious man. He wore starched white linen shirts with his crisply pressed khakis, creases running down the front of each leg. His snowy white beard was neatly trimmed and his steel…
by Christine Alexander “Little Wonders” placed second in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2018 Fall Fiction Contest. I spent my days in the infant and toddler room of Little Wonders Nursery School rocking babies to sleep and doling out snacks to those who could chew. They were all gummy fingers and chubby…