by Rob Armstrong Let’s begin by finding a comfortable seated position. The world will tear itself apart within a hundred years. You know how it botched things with COVID-19. We bickered about wearing masks or not wearing masks. Shooting up vaccine or not shooting up vaccine. A Chinese lab made…
by E.P. Lande “Aaron, who’s Madonna?” my mother asked. At ninety-five, her last recollections of pop culture had probably been Bing Crosby or Kate Smith. “She’s a current pop icon, Mom.” In reality, I didn’t know that much about Madonna either. Madonna had scheduled two concerts in Montreal. To Steve,…
by Kevin Jones Mia always thought that maybe, just maybe, if she held her breath long enough the world would fade away just for a second. She thought that the quiet wouldn’t feel so quiet anymore as if it followed her and the ringing in her ears would subside to…
by Elise Swanson Ochoa I pay these bastards every week because someone told me it was good for me. I pay her too. I pay my monthly subscriptions. I hate taillights, tire screeches, and my tight neck. “Mongolia was a dream.” “I feel your gratitude.” “Embrace it; your aura is…
by Paige Medlock This story contains mentions of suicide. The craving for memories and emotions burned my throat with desperation in an almost insanity-like frenzy. In the darkness, I paced and contemplated taking the life of a man who wanted nothing more than to take his own. I questioned myself…
by Christian Velilla (This story contains attempted suicide.) I find myself in that icy corner of my room, with my body lost in inaudible sobs and tears that I only feel running down my cheeks, but they are nothing more than vivid flashes of my imagination; like little diamonds that…
by Phil Temples Hear it? No, of course you don’t. That’s because it’s in my head. I’m not crazy or hallucinating. It’s the damned tinnitus! But with a new twist. I’ve had this ringing in my ears for as long as I can remember. Normally I just live with it….
by Sarah Toney (This story contains suicide.) The air was thin and icy. Breathing it in felt like swallowing shattered glass. The city was beautiful from this height and the boy wanted to reach out and feel the warmth of the setting sun. The heaviness in his chest felt a…
by Parker Fendler After spending an hour at the computer, Eddie saw only his reflection on the screen. He slumped in his chair. Screw this. It was early enough in the semester that he could drop the class and register for a different one. Who needed creative writing anyway? He…
by René Zadoorian This short story was originally published in Qafiyah Review. Forty nine and freshly single, Aram sat in his dimly lit living room with a plastic container resting on the coffee table. The container’s lid was covered in unevenly spaced holes, punctured with the tip of a knife,…