By Morgan Larkins He’d bought the ring from a mall kiosk for four-hundred dollars in cash. It’d taken him eighteen shifts at the diner to save the cash, some of it going into other envelopes tucked around the double wide for rent and groceries, for the vacation they’d been trying to plan for four months. … Continue reading monogamy
A Chip Off
By Craig Dobson Fiona is sitting with her back to the window, a semi-silhouette against the village’s winding main street. The weather has been hot for days. Farm machinery blunders along the narrow lanes, great round bales balanced precariously on splayed trailers. Wisps of straw litter the hedgerows and pavements. In the warm evenings, check-shirted … Continue reading A Chip Off
I Wasn’t Drunk
By Jennifer Leigh Kiefer I wasn’t drunk. That’s the truth. I never am though, so I knew you wouldn’t realize I was faking. The half a bottle I had slowly sipped was just an excuse. Something I could blame – we both could blame. As I wandered away from the group huddled on the large … Continue reading I Wasn’t Drunk
The Miserable
By Tammy B. Tsonis I was born to be miserable like my mother and her mother before her. I was five when I discovered my destiny. I ran toward the kitchen for my favorite snack– a hostess twinkie - and saw my mother crying, tears rolling down her cheeks as she held a dirty mop … Continue reading The Miserable
Clam
By Miss Kay CLAM. From his bent position it was hard to make out his face. He seemed unfazed by the happenings around him. The town centre was abuzz. Honking cars, traffic slowly building. The park close by engulfed in activity. It was Saturday and the town’s people descended upon the park to flex their … Continue reading Clam
Face to Face
By Uday Mukerji Face to Face I threw off the comforter and ran to the bathroom. I was perspiring, and my heart was pounding inside my chest. I sat down at the edge of the bathtub to put the whole incident into perspective, although I feared the harm had already been done. The words had … Continue reading Face to Face
By the Clock
By Barry Kritzberg He said he would meet her under Marshall Field’s clock. Everyone knew the clock, he said, it was a Chicago landmark, even though Marshall Field’s had become Macy’s. He said all of this quickly, for he was hoping to conceal that he was without wheels and would arrive by public transportation. He … Continue reading By the Clock
Excisions
By Kim Charles Younkin January 22 Dear Dad, I’m scared. Don’t worry, though. It’s different this time. It’s Maisie. She has this infection in her glands, the vet says. I didn’t even know dogs had these glands until Maisie started scooting on her bottom all over the yard in the snow a few weeks ago. … Continue reading Excisions
Garden Views
By Candi Lavender Reaching for a towel to dry her hands, she noted the towel next to hers. It was haphazard. No, that was the wrong word. It was carelessly hung. Everything he did was careless, except when it was in his domain. Tools were hung precisely on the shed walls and if she returned … Continue reading Garden Views
Luzia’s Dowry
By Jozef Leyden The plane bringing me from Copenhagen to Lisbon was half-empty. So was the ‘Arrivals’ at the Lisbon-International on that late warm October evening when I came across her ̶ my inamorata-siren ̶ for the first time. With no checked baggage, just a backpack, I smoothly sailed through ‘Immigration and Customs,’ briskly pacing … Continue reading Luzia’s Dowry
Academy of the Heart And Mind 