By James Dunn Second Lieutenant James Dawson made his way through the Happy Hour crowd at the Charleston Air Force Base Officer’s Club bar and ordered a glass of white wine. After he took a sip his friend and squadron mate, First Lieutenant John Tamkun came up from behind and nudged his arm. “Glad you … Continue reading Conned
A Bowl of Tum Yum Soup
By Tabassum Tahmina Shagufta Hussein While looking at her regular stray cat friends, Nivi felt so special today. All she can recall from her 14 years of life is a dispute between parents, her grandparent's targeted hostility, and being treated like a second class. No one has ever made her special. She never knew how … Continue reading A Bowl of Tum Yum Soup
The Woods Can Be Good
By David B. Barnes My view of the world had changed after years of being disappointed by people who seemed to be focused on hurting anyone they could, for any reason or for no reason. I started wearing a badge to make a difference. I found that those of us who wanted to help our … Continue reading The Woods Can Be Good
Noise
By Steve Carr The sound of the 5:10 train coming through town was comforting. In the morning darkness of her bedroom Mrs. Lilly sat up on the edge of her bed, pulled her robe that had been draped over her walker from the top crossbar and slipped her arms into the yellow cotton sleeves. She … Continue reading Noise
A Palia for the Mason
By Shalini Ajay Singh The observer, when he seems to himself to be observing a stone, is really, if physics is to be believed, observing the effects of the stone upon himself. ~Bertrand Russell This is a beautiful city, come, burn it with me? There’s no Appian Way, or “queen of the roads” in these … Continue reading A Palia for the Mason
The Samaritan
By Sam Paget I had a three-mile journey to work. It took me through Oldbury, in the dark hours of the early morning. I used a bicycle to make the journey, to save money. On the way home, I enjoyed the fresh air on nice days, and the reasonable quiet of the roads at two … Continue reading The Samaritan
The Procession
By Anthony Ward It was the third consecutive year that Jared had sat outside the church on the Eve of St. Mark with the hope of catching a vision of the phantom congregation. The only eerie event he had experienced up until then was the spectacle of a Barn Owl that had swooped, banshee like, … Continue reading The Procession
The Bell Tower
By DC Diamondopolous Reverend Langston Penniman sat on the edge of his bed, stretching his black fingers. Everything had either twisted up on him or shrunk except his stomach. Once six-foot-five, he now plunged to six two, still tall, but not the imposing dignitary he once was standing behind the lectern in front of his … Continue reading The Bell Tower
Yellow
By Bluford Birdsong Originally published in Literary Yard Jill shuts down the treadmill after running three eight minute miles, proud of herself and thankful for a couple of hours alone. Still panting, she opens the stainless steel door of the new fridge and grabs a blue shaker bottle of branch-chain amino acids. The Tahitian Punch … Continue reading Yellow
The Wall
By Jim Woessner There was a loud, sharp crack from outside. The elderly woman sat up, sucked in her breath, and turned to the boy who was heating water on the one-burner stove. “What was that, Unuk?” she asked, using the Serbian word for “grandson.” “Not to worry, Baba,” the boy said. “Just a car. … Continue reading The Wall
Academy of the Heart And Mind 