By Ganesh Rajgopal When it comes to the latest fashion trends or appropriate dress codes for events, I am either clueless or indifferent. But even I know that you don’t gate-crash a wedding in T-shirt and shorts. With a backpack completing the ensemble? I had the privilege to do just that, much to the amusement … Continue reading A Wedding Backpacker
Christina
By Wendy Taylor When I was seven, I decided I would call my daughter Christina. My daughter was not going to have a boring name like mine. I could never understand why my parents called me Julie. Why, when there were so many millions of wonderful names in the world did, they choose Julie? Plus, … Continue reading Christina
The Limp
By Leigh-Anne Burley John Henry looks up into his mother’s face as his plump fingers tug at her billowing skirt, pulling her towards the shoreline. She smiles at him and then turns a troubling gaze toward the ocean and the vastness beyond. While building sandcastles, she tells him his father was a hero fighting for … Continue reading The Limp
Death of a Mountaineer
By Rod Raglin They found your body on the third day. It was where I told them it would likely be, a treacherous spot at the bottom of the gulley you had to descend before the final push to the summit. At this time of year, it’s in constant shadow, slopes coated with ice, a … Continue reading Death of a Mountaineer
Jason Was Lost in a Parallel World
By Saul Greenblatt Two theoretical physicists, Jason Dunn and Joan Keene, sat at a table in the university cafeteria discussing the theory that there are parallel universes. "Martin, do you think it’s possible that there might be a parallel world or many parallel worlds? Imagine that there is a parallel world where there is another … Continue reading Jason Was Lost in a Parallel World
Helium
By Jim Bates I’ll never forget my first helium balloon. I got two of them for my second birthday. Two red ones, my favorite color. My grandpa gave them to me. “Here you go, Lonny,” he said, smiling. “Enjoy.” I did. My grandpa loved helium-filled balloons. Not those mylar ones with sayings on them like … Continue reading Helium
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
Death Doesn’t Kiss Back
By Ben Cromwell I saw a cartoon, once, in some magazine, or maybe it was online. It said life was in love with death, and that over the years, life had sent gifts to death. A little cartoon turtle walked across the frame, going from young to old as it went. A dark robed figure … Continue reading Death Doesn’t Kiss Back
She Pretends Not to Speak
By Victoria Hewitt Her hair is grayed at the temples now. Her bones are more brittle and her voice cracks when she speaks to her cat. Her children live across the country with families of their own and her husband of 40 years passed away from the impact of the car that struck him while … Continue reading She Pretends Not to Speak
Burning Blue
By Ellie Stewart A pair of eyes, bluer than the midday sky, gleamed in the black dungeon. It had worked. The master’s invention had finally come to life as expected. As soon as the news was broken to the rest of the town, the old tinker on the outskirts of civilization would no longer live … Continue reading Burning Blue
Academy of the Heart And Mind 