By Mehtab Singh The house smelled the same as it had when he left it four years ago. He tried to recall his memories there, but all he could remember was his restricted childhood behind those walls. He did not cry when he buried his parents; he thought it was freedom for him. He entered … Continue reading July on the Calendar
The Burden of Integrity, The Cost of Its Absence
By Cora Tate Robyn’s older sister, Elizabeth, lay dying half a world away, in the regional hospital in Sweden where both were born. A tearful telephone conversation ten days earlier told Beth’s sibling doctors estimated Beth had five weeks to live. Despite sibling arguments and rivalry as children, the sisters enjoyed a close relationship from … Continue reading The Burden of Integrity, The Cost of Its Absence
His name was Dieter
By Khoi Pham His name was Dieter. I met him at our chess club’s annual gathering. That year, he was sixty-three, tall and slim, his silver hair was thinning and revealed a high and handsome forehead. I was the only Asian person there, and one of the few young faces in a crowd of elderly … Continue reading His name was Dieter
Scientist
By Dominik Slusarczyk I toss and turn all night. When the sun comes up enough that my room is brightly lit I give up on sleep and get out of bed. I drink three cups of coffee but I am so tired they barely help. I search my memory but find nothing. I have to … Continue reading Scientist
Like Mother, Like Daughter
By Ernesto Sanchez My father was primitive. Barely half cybernetic, a second-generation cerebral implant. Not a being fit for the 22nd century. "Laina, why don't we have lunch sometime. Please? It's been years," he used to say before the accident. I cut him off. Surgically removing the emotional pathways that caused me to miss him … Continue reading Like Mother, Like Daughter
The Memory of You
By John Thomas He literally bumped into her, his first love, in the public library. In a city of two million. What were the chances? After the obligatory updates about mates, parents, and rambunctious children (he had two, Emma one), she casually asked, “what are you doing now?” “I’m a writer,” he replied. “You wrote good letters,” she … Continue reading The Memory of You
End of Affection
By Kartika Lestari Harry’s heart felt like the earth after being hit by a meteor, shattered into pieces, nothing but a deep, empty hole. He gripped his wife Shanti’s hand, who sat beside him on the couch in their dining room. Since they made their way out of the hospital that afternoon, she had leaned … Continue reading End of Affection
The Bookshop That Forgot Names
By Farytude The door was hidden behind a soft bell of swaying grass. She had walked past the path many times, but never stepped inside. Today, though, was different. She decided to enter, searching for a book on grief – something for her aunt, who was going through the pain of losing her husband. It … Continue reading The Bookshop That Forgot Names
13 Days of Halloween: Thrice in One Sitting by Justin Alcala
“One witch can do more harm than a thousand common thieves,” Silas Fear-The-Lord Doddridge recited along the road to Pontybridge village. It was a dreadful afternoon in New England, but three facts rolled Silas out of his inn’s bed on this wet autumn day. First, as the Malleus Maleficarum stated, Those who deny the reality … Continue reading 13 Days of Halloween: Thrice in One Sitting by Justin Alcala
13 Days of Halloween: HiLee Frankenstein by Dylan Jack James
“HiLee Frankenstein” was previously published in Legacy Magazine under the title “What Scares You?” I was four years old when my father and mother first took me trick or treating down our little village street. It was a crisp cool Halloween night and the smell of cherry wood hung in the air from the only … Continue reading 13 Days of Halloween: HiLee Frankenstein by Dylan Jack James
Academy of the Heart And Mind 