by H.E. Shippas “Up next, Marshall Couper,” my teacher, Mrs. Smithson, announced. I gathered my papers and marched to the front of the classroom. Mrs. Smithson helped me pull up my project onto the holoscreen. The lights in the class turned off, my first slide illuminating the faces of my…
by M.E. Gayton On the morning of December 26th, Ralph Breckles came to the realization that he wanted to know when he was going to die. By dinner that evening, he had made the appointment to find out. The following week, Ralph drove to an office building located exactly 9.3…
by Joseph Biancalana He has to get out of the house. Before the young man had even finished Helen was already crying, running upstairs to his old bedroom. He let the young man finish, asked questions, thanked him, closed the door. He could hear her crying, almost shrieking, in his…
by Gregory F. DeLaurier (This story contains child abuse.) 1988… The River listened. Always did, always had. It heard the moans and cries of those in this little city who faced the terror of life, of death, of pain, of fear. It heard their joy, a wedding, a birthing, the quick…
by Lindsey James (This story contains the death of a child.) You walk into the garage, counting and discounting your steps in equal measure, as if the right can cancel out the left, can erase your progress, can sweep away the gritty prints sketching the distance between the door and…
by Bree LeMaire Cindy met Pablo on Match.com after a couple girlfriends signed her up. They christened her Cindy, for Cinderella, knowing she’d eventually come across a prince. Pablo showed up, a perfect match. Her picture was reminiscent of a thirtyish librarian, a short dirty blond without glasses. His picture…
by Yekaterina Droog (This story contains themes of war.) Styopka woke up. His bed was shaking as if he were on the train again. He loved trains: you didn’t have to do anything – you simply sat on the berth and looked through the dusty window at the barren fields,…
by Craig Fishbane 1 Teresa was separated from her family at the border. She spent a month at a facility where the boys shared the same bathroom as the girls. She insists that everything is fine now that she is back with her mother. She always has a smile for…
by Haley M. Forté It all began with a hummingbird feeder that hung from a maple tree. Watching the buzzing birds flit from perch to perch as the emerald leaves faded to their autumnal states was how Little Emilia wished to spend her mornings. Mother was always busy, and Father…
by Kamillya Hunter I grew up in the suburbs. Scratch whatever image just came to mind because I promise it’s not accurate. Let me paint a clearer picture. One of rusty chain link fences surrounding patchy lawns, where stray dogs roam and chase kids down the street. Worn-out sneakers were…