And Then, Who Knows

by Jo He told me he was going to see the world, and asked if I would come with him. He said he was leaving to Guatemala and off to Belize from there and on to Panama for four months and then, who knows.He asked as we lay in bed on a Tuesday, tea steaming …

The Story of Wood

by Nate Some spark of remembrance brought his father’s lessons suddenly alive there in the storeroom, from the many asides imparted as they collaborated in earnest on their sawdust projects. There was something ancestral about it: his father, waxing philosophical about lumber’s endless qualities, delighting in sculpting the former living pillars of the earth into …

Breathe

by Jason Okay, here she comes. This time we play it cool. Just casually say Hey there . No, wait, that isn’t a conversation spark.  Compliment her. That will make her stop for a second. What do we compliment?  No, not boobs. Hair, that’s the one.  Wait, what if she hates her hair today? We could go down in flames immediately. What about... …

Beautiful Dream

by Tiffani Although she slept, it felt real. His shadow over her, eyes on her.  Hand on her face, thumb tracing her lips. Her lips slightly curved upward. Lips on her forehead, a gentle loving kiss. Hand slowly tracing her clavicle, resting there. Kisses on her nose, each cheek. Hand to her breast. Tongue tracing …

You Look Like You’ve Seen a Ghost

by Lefty Amy was hideous. She was a monster with a possum’s snout, scales of an iguana, and she moved like a chimpanzee. Nobody bullied her at school because they believed that her guardians were demons who practiced ancient, druid-like magic. This pleased her, but she remained anti-social and often used the boys’ restroom to …

Kintsugi

by Zev Gold To his deep dismay, it was over as soon as it began. Shattered into a million pieces on the ground, some shards kicked around for good measure. The churning in the pit of his stomach served as a reminder of his folly. A constant reminder. Always present. Whispering into his ear how …

The Nexus

by Michael "See that?! That’s really Ed Norton, not Brad Pitt. Dude, they’re really the same!" Townes looked down at the 1000 year old rug, holding his head in his hand, staring holes in the weave. I patted Frank on the back and tried to will him into silence. His shoulders coiled as he bounced. …

Burn

by Nova Don't have much time. Carefully light the fuse and check the length. About ten minutes. Whip out a small piece of wax and plug the head.  Nine minutes.  Enough time to back away to a distance outside of the blast radius, but close enough to see my handiwork.  I run. And stop completely …

Dybbuks

by Jeff Fleischer “Why did you let that dybbuk in?” Hiram’s mother asked nearly as soon as the man closed the bathroom door. “Shhh.” Hiram looked back to see if the visitor had heard. “Ma, he’s just a repairman. We called him to fix the leaking pipe under the sink, remember?” She’d been forgetting things …

The Ninth Wave

by Kat Gilman Rose Waves crashed against the beach, foaming wildly as water hit the sand before receding rapidly, only to return again. The ninth wave, biggest of all the ones preceding it, brought something additional – a limp ragdoll, soaked through and encircled with seaweed, so that only the limbs were visible. Once, this …