FictionA Fair Trade by Stan Cobalt
A Fair Trade Jordan looked out at the flat expanse of Kansas before him. He heard that long ago, plants used to grow here in endless uniform rows. Everyone knew nothing could…
Fiction
FictionChange in Weather over Many Days by Erin Michaela Sweeney
“ Tibu to mmm’aane , what am I?” The lanky old man still strong in body and mind shields his eyes from the piercing afternoon sun and asks, “Whatever do you mean,…
FictionPorcelain Never Leaves by Rasmenia Massoud
Porcelain Never Leaves If we referred to any of our mother’s treasures as “junk,” it was a slap on the mouth. “I’m a collector,” she’d say. Me and my younger sister Beth,…
FictionRearview Mirror by John W. Dennehy
Rearview Mirror Afternoon sun reflected through the common area windows. Melvin sat with his wheelchair backed near a corner. All of his war buddies had passed away, and most of the guys…
FictionProcession by Rodrigo Ribera d’Ebre
Procession In retrospect, it was the worst mistake Rebecca had ever made. She ruined a man’s life. It pained her to admit that because she learned to never regret anything in the…
FictionOK? Cupid? by Jesse Weiner
OK? Cupid? “Why am I here again?” I mumble to myself as I futz with my wine glass. I’m sitting in a small booth encased in a musty velvet curtain. The lighting…
FictionGuardian by Austin Conner
Guardian I stand outside my king’s palace, my stone body towering over the city. My brother is to my right. I can hear him sometimes in the silence of the night. There,…
FictionForever Pet by Katherine Groppo
FOREVER PET One recent afternoon, as I attempted to spray paint an old lamp while simultaneously wrangling our newly adopted golden retriever, my son discovered a ladybug. He was immediately seized by…
FictionBurn Out by Katie Winkler
Burn Out I’ll tell you what I want. Come to think of it, what exactly do I want? I used to want to be published in exclusive journals, solicited to speak at…
Yellow Pages by Frank Haberle
You arrive at the third loading dock on the mountain side of the plant, itself a huge, blue, aluminum-sided mountain. You are there at 8 o’clock, as you were told. You are…
Together by Jim Doering
I awaken to an empty house, save for our chocolate-lab-beagle-mix, Lolly, who pushes her way into our bedroom. She opens the door with her large, brown muzzle, excited to wake me up.…
A Glass of Scotch by Margaret McNellis
The basement air was thick and clammy. A hunter-green Formica bar stretched along the back wall, beneath well windows long since claimed by spiders whose webs hung like stained lace curtains. Mirrored…
Nonexistent by Nells Wasilewski
“You have got to be kidding me,” I said. “Nope,” the lady at the desk replied, “No one by the name you gave me, sorry.” She rudely turned her back and proceeded…
Prince of North Vietnam by Stephen Reynolds
Every day at 9 pm, the Vietnamese fisherman steps off of his quaint vessel. He crosses the decaying deck and walks across the small strip of beach nestled between my Wal-Mart lawn…
Never Out of Season by Timothy Hicks
I was wiping the dust off an old snow globe in the upstairs attic, when a mop of honey-blonde hair suddenly appeared through the wooden flooring. “I thought I’d find you here,”…
Prelude to an American Wedding by Darren Young
The incandescent atmosphere blinded Will into a contradictory stupor of visual delight and dismay. He stood, luggage in hand, outside of a hotel, his eyes fixed on a chapel twenty yards away.…
Drop Out by Phillip Temples
The bearded, homeless man yanked down on his ill-fitting sweater. It was a hot August afternoon on Tremont Street near the Boston Commons. He shivered briefly. “Buddy. Can you spare some change?”…
The Joke by Daniel Wilmoth
Evening cooled the air and purpled the sky. On our second date, we strolled through a pedestrian mall paved with brick, not holding hands. It was lined with restaurants, bars, clothing stores,…
Leavened With Butter by Thomas Elson
On a dull Wednesday afternoon, Rachel Benson, tired after teaching all day, tired from driving home on an Indy-like freeway, even more tired of the maze she was forced to negotiate daily…
The Parable of the Vengeful Man by Daniel Wilmoth
Kevin hunched over the keyboard, shirtsleeves rolled past his elbows, squinting at the screen as he typed his final message to those who would soon be former coworkers. A closed door prevented…