By William Hogg It was a day at the end of summer but for Wilmington, North Carolina, a gift. Almost noon and the temperature was not yet seventy. Alan was sitting on a concrete bench, breathing slowly, relaxed, and at peace. He glanced over at his nine-year-old grandson, Tommy, who was sitting at the other … Continue reading The Shadchan
Father’s Silence and Mama’s Lemonade
By Georgia May Father takes me out on the fishing boat every year, for one weekend in June. I don’t know why father does this. He doesn’t speak to me the entire time. Or any other time. He is usually away. Far, far away, on business, and comes home ghost-like, scurrying off to the study … Continue reading Father’s Silence and Mama’s Lemonade
The Swimmers of Cape Fourwind
By Anna Treffer It wasn’t swimming weather. Thick clouds, like stained pumice, thrust the day into premature twilight. The strengthening wind hinted at a storm, throwing salty spray onto the car that pulled up across from Cape Fourwinds. As the engine cut off the pair inside made no move to get out. More salt threw … Continue reading The Swimmers of Cape Fourwind
The Hadley House
By C.J. Spulak The brown, bare trees swayed slowly in the October wind. In the waning afternoon sunlight, Jessa Fromm squinted through the spots of caked dust and bug guts on the dirty window and gazed out on a yard full of dying weeds and yellowing grass. She sprayed some Windex on the dirty glass … Continue reading The Hadley House
End of the Line
By Mario Marcinko Originally published in CafeLit Magazine Following yet another failed night of forced unrest, I leave the comforts of my sheets, ready or not to face the day. The greyness of life begins its attack on my sensations before I open the window upon skies curtained with leaden clouds and streaked streams of … Continue reading End of the Line
New Tools
By Violet SH In the dead of night, in a damp, ice-cold meat packing factory far removed from society, hung hundreds of dead, soulless bodies of all backgrounds and genders. A young woman named Alice wore black jeans and a white tank top with no shoes. She hung like everyone else in the factory: by … Continue reading New Tools
Mount Shasta
By Fred Klein Edgar raised his goggles and looked over the valley, and it appeared the wind was taking his new sausage-shaped balloon to the east nearer to the mountains. He was at the helm of his open gondola. “Hans, open the hydrogen gas valve and lower us down slowly to 200 feet according to … Continue reading Mount Shasta
Three Wishes
By Carolyn Mamchur Walking alone on a craggy beach, my bare foot catches on something metal. A drop of blood on gray sand. When I rub my aching fingers against the object, vessel shaped, I feel barnacles of grime covering ancient letters etched in copper. I yearn to read what is written, but I cannot. … Continue reading Three Wishes
Our First Night in the Country
By Detlef W. Wieck I was five and a half, my sister Margaret, seven, when our father died. Our mother, Mary, at forty-four, was afraid of the prospects of raising two children without a husband to share the burden and to earn a living. After a proper mourning period, she set out to find another … Continue reading Our First Night in the Country
Blue and Green Music
By Barry Glynn It had been a long, cold night. My father woke me up at around two in the morning. He’d returned from checking the cows and found a heifer that was struggling in labor. He said simply, “I need you to wake up and help me with a cow.” I took a moment … Continue reading Blue and Green Music
Academy of the Heart And Mind 