By Mehreen Ahmed As a lightning crackled, Claudia drew the curtains apart. She stood before the long French windows of her penthouse apartment and looked down at a wet alley. The cobblestones of the boulevard shone in the falling rain of dismal clouds. It hadn’t rained for days. She yawned and then she stretched. Across … Continue reading Coffee and Rain
Waking You Up
By Nancy Lou Henderson There was an aroma of coffee perking, as the alarm buzzed loudly. Elsa knew it was time to get out of bed, but she laid there thinking, with her eyes closed, before turning the alarm off. She loved the bookstore downstairs, but as the owner, she knew it had monopolized … Continue reading Waking You Up
The Park Bench
By Nancy Lou Henderson What a drab day, Elsa thought to herself as she stood at her office window. Elsa prayed the rain would stop and the skies would clear by lunchtime. The park was her refuge while eating her lunch. Elsa had a favorite bench where she sat, ate her lunch, and watched … Continue reading The Park Bench
Fiction by Alex Andy Phuong
Kate Winslet On one Labor Day afternoon, while driving down a Revolutionary Road, a simple, all-American girl named Kate Winslet was searching for something to do for her summer vacation. After driving for several hours, she saw a billboard with the headline, “TITANIC SAILS ONCE MORE!” She hesitantly resisted the urge to buy tickets for … Continue reading Fiction by Alex Andy Phuong
Christmas Wish
By Tavinder New Frost was glistening like jewels shining as though it was worth a million pounds. The wind was whistling like a naughty child intermittently. Figures of people hustled around to gather Christmas presents last minute. Their faces were full joy like sunshine because of the air of Christmas was approaching. Kids unable … Continue reading Christmas Wish
The Marvelous Love Affair of Higgins Hollow (Summer, 1996)
By Michael Guendelsberger Most of us who worked at Higgins Hollow that summer of 1996 had done so for at least two or more seasons. A girl I knew from high school said she could get me a better paying job at a produce store where she worked, but changing felt too complicated and … Continue reading The Marvelous Love Affair of Higgins Hollow (Summer, 1996)
First Place Short Fiction Contest: Lost and Found by Colleen M. Tice
Part I The archeology class has been on the dig site for two months. They had been studying abroad on the outskirts of the Island Aswan. The group’s campground is on the edge of the east banks of the Nile River. Professor Alexander Bakas received permission to dig on the site for three months. His … Continue reading First Place Short Fiction Contest: Lost and Found by Colleen M. Tice
Change of Heart
By Dianne Moritz Melissa closed the card, letter inside, and placed the envelope on her mantle. Sunshine filtered through the windows, bathing her in its radiant warmth. She thought of Mark and wondered if she could ever forgive him, trust him again. “Don’t go there!” she thought, then grabbed her wallet and headed out … Continue reading Change of Heart
The Old Apple Tree
By Tavinder New Gabriel Borin tore and battered his way through the tall vines obscuring the view that lay ahead, as they wounded his skin leaving signs of his blood onto their branches andthe floor. They were like protectors an army of the The Old Apple Tree, that many before had failed to release … Continue reading The Old Apple Tree
Love At First Sight
By Dianne Moritz My mother has three hard and fast words of warning about men and dating: “Never spend the first date at a movie. Why waste two hours sitting in a dark theater, when you could be getting to know each other? Secondly, don’t be timid about ordering exactly what you want in a … Continue reading Love At First Sight
Academy of the Heart And Mind 