By Callie J. Smith My mother talked to dead people, and I hated her for it. At 10 years old, I remember pressing myself into the wall beside an old rosewood buffet in the family room. It sat by the doorway to the kitchen, where I’d hear my mother talking with her parents as if … Continue reading Wicherek Way
A Panoramic View
By Abe Margel I thought I understood how my family operated, its rules, habits, prejudices, passions. I was wrong. My sister, Nina, was born first so got the larger of the two bedrooms destined for the children. Her room had a big walk-in closet which, as a kid, was a fun place to hide. From … Continue reading A Panoramic View
Those Goldbergs
By Charlotte Pregnolato The first thing I saw was the gleaming chrome grin twinkling down the street, followed by the biggest car I'd ever seen. When the grinning monster turned into our driveway, I stopped twirling my hips, and my hula-hoop clattered to the ground. Daddy got out with a grin almost as big as … Continue reading Those Goldbergs
Escaping the Shell
By Destiny Hankerson Aretha walked down the shady pathway, right next to the park. As her Black hair blew in the wind, she smiled, feeling the sun rays against her face. It was a brand new morning, and Aretha felt blessed to experience it. Today, she was heading to the audition for her part in … Continue reading Escaping the Shell
Blue Light
By Margaret Sattler The bedroom was dim. Hazy light filtered through a crack in the plastic blinds, forming a line on his face. What time is it? His ears were ringing. Groggily, he felt for his phone on the bedside table—a strange weight on his chest. The phone wasn’t there. That woke him. He looked … Continue reading Blue Light
Period.
By Ginger Keller Gannaway Viv watched the large wall clock’s red second hand make its way toward twelve while she said one more Hail Mary before the lunch bell clanged. She slid her unused loose leaf papers into a folder and placed the morning’s textbooks in the metal cavern beneath her wooden desk. She straightened … Continue reading Period.
A Dire Situation
By Craig Borri It was a sweltering August day, but that didn’t deter the three reporters waiting outside the gate. The gate was part of a ten-foot-tall fence enclosing a 2,000 acre forest preserve. Two lab assistants had just deposited several pounds of meat inside the fence, and their guide, Dr. Anne Phillips, had just … Continue reading A Dire Situation
July Hybrid Contest: Gold Winner: “The Final Credits” by Sarah Wolfe
The Final Credits Directed by A sentimental, young soul Written by A silver-haired body with liver-spotted hands and shaky knees, lips that can’t speak out loud but whisper to the mind Produced by Mama and Tata; two immigrants with one busted suitcase. Pregnant with a child and a new, bustling city Cast (in order of … Continue reading July Hybrid Contest: Gold Winner: “The Final Credits” by Sarah Wolfe
July Hybrid Contest: Silver Winner: “Acer” by Khoi Pham
Do you still remember my old Acer? It was the first computer I bought with my own money after leaving my hometown.When it broke beyond repair a few years ago, I had to store it in our attic.I’d forgotten it was there until this year's spring, when I ran a recovery tool on the old drive. … Continue reading July Hybrid Contest: Silver Winner: “Acer” by Khoi Pham
July Hybrid Contest: Bronze Winner: “tres destellos en la oscurida” by L. Simplón
just north of the Pillar of Yunus, the three hundred and thirty-third year before the Incarnation, as related by the raven Pytho, to Apollo I. Orgulous is the voice of Wind, unheard by the air of Apellaiios, invulnerable to His voiced blows, as is the air everywhere. Rarefied by blood, inured to the barren cold … Continue reading July Hybrid Contest: Bronze Winner: “tres destellos en la oscurida” by L. Simplón
Academy of the Heart And Mind 