I never thought much about the afterlife. Until now. I can’t move, breathe, speak or hear and it is so dark all the time. If I knew it would be this lonely, I would have been cremated instead. Chuckling softly at the irony of it all, I pick at the maggots wriggling on my forehead. […]
Stories
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Magician
A thief came out of the shadows, dressed in all black and wearing a balaclava and held a pistol at Darren Tanian. “Money!” He shouted. “Ain’t a thang.” Darren sang. He took a drag from his black quellazaire and exhaled a thin, grayish vapor. “Money!” The thief repeated. “Where?” Darren asked. The thief cocked the […]
Tomato Pulp Makes the Wound Look Worse
I never owned a bow and arrow as a kid but learned archery from my friend, Stanley Llewellyn. Using mud, we painted a target on an old tree in Llewellyn’s backyard
Story: After He Cheated
At first she felt free, after her husband cheated. Oddly, Vivian found herself walking through a local park in the July heat without a bra on. She simply didn’t give a damn about attire now with her stringy hair and puffy eyes
Story: Leopard Skin Van
When I was 27 I took a job driving a leopard skin van around the country promoting Kraft Cheese to college students. I’d show up to some university quad in a uniform consisting of whatever I was wearing that day plus gloves decorated like paws, a visor cap with a foam leopard’s head, and these […]
Story: Hanging by Beaton Galafa
Death.
It came one evening when everyone else was sleeping. It crawled in the dark outside, hissing along the night winds that were shaking leaves and branches
Story: Spirit in the Subway by Mark Tulin
The little boy could hardly keep his eyes open. He lay on his Uncle’s lap during the subway ride home. He always liked resting his head on his lap; it was safe there. He looked up at the ceiling of the train and stared at its empty space.
Story: Delivery by Denis Bell
“It came out positive.” “You’re kidding!” It would seem so. The news was surprising to Ruth because Sandra was old. Not Betty White old, but easily old enough to be Ruth’s mom.
A Pair of Silk Stockings by Kate Chopin
Little Mrs. Sommers one day found herself the unexpected possessor of fifteen dollars. It seemed to her a very large amount of money, and the way in which it stuffed and bulged her worn old porte-monnaie gave her a feeling of importance such as she had not enjoyed for years.
Story: Things That Recede with Time by Lauren Howlett
Invisible boundaries. The gum lines of aggressive brushers. Chins, if you’re a Hapsburg. The stamped fingerprints of once white shoes. Synthetic beards on aging tires
Story: Retreat by Jack Coey
She ran away from home, and Pastor Bruce was dismayed after talking with her mother. Her mother said she’d been sullen for the last month or so, and even the school nurse called once. Her daughter wouldn’t tell her what was wrong, and she asked Pastor Bruce
Story: The Steadfast Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen
There were once five and twenty tin soldiers. They were brothers, for they had all been made out of the same old tin spoon. They all shouldered their bayonets, held themselves upright, and looked straight before
Story: Helping Me Up by Bruce Ransom
“Are you going to be my new daddy?” she asked directly.
“I don’t know,” he said, looking down at the flowery dress squirming beside him on the edge of the living room couch. “I like your mom, but to get married you have to really, really like each other.”
My Daughter’s Best Friend by Michelle Reynolds
“Here you go Missy.” Elizabeth hears her daughter say as she enters the kitchen. Brooklyn is sitting at the table, pouring milk into the empty glass in the seat beside her.
Story: The Birthmark by Loretta Martin
I was born with a birthmark that looked like a bruised flower. It trailed along the left side of my face, from hairline to where neck and shoulder met. I grew accustomed to open stares, sidelong glances, and children being chastised for pointing.