By Tabassum Tahmina Shagufta Hussein While looking at her regular stray cat friends, Nivi felt so special today. All she can recall from her 14 years of life is a dispute between parents, her grandparent's targeted hostility, and being treated like a second class. No one has ever made her special. She never knew how … Continue reading A Bowl of Tum Yum Soup
The Globe
By William Baker It is noisy in the dark, stuffy house and hard to sleep. Momma has a lot of people over and they are loud. Paul looks at the globe on his nightstand and shakes it. The silver white snow swirls around the miniature figures on the bridge and they become obscure, hidden in … Continue reading The Globe
The Woods Can Be Good
By David B. Barnes My view of the world had changed after years of being disappointed by people who seemed to be focused on hurting anyone they could, for any reason or for no reason. I started wearing a badge to make a difference. I found that those of us who wanted to help our … Continue reading The Woods Can Be Good
Noise
By Steve Carr The sound of the 5:10 train coming through town was comforting. In the morning darkness of her bedroom Mrs. Lilly sat up on the edge of her bed, pulled her robe that had been draped over her walker from the top crossbar and slipped her arms into the yellow cotton sleeves. She … Continue reading Noise
A Palia for the Mason
By Shalini Ajay Singh The observer, when he seems to himself to be observing a stone, is really, if physics is to be believed, observing the effects of the stone upon himself. ~Bertrand Russell This is a beautiful city, come, burn it with me? There’s no Appian Way, or “queen of the roads” in these … Continue reading A Palia for the Mason
Primrose
By Michal Reiben Once upon a time, in a faraway land there lived a happy family of fairies--Acorn, Lilac, and their daughter Primrose. Tragically, Lilac was devoured by a dragon which caused her light to go out. Acorn, not wishing to remain alone, remarried a beautiful, bewitching fairy named Thistle. Unbeknown to him she was … Continue reading Primrose
The Samaritan
By Sam Paget I had a three-mile journey to work. It took me through Oldbury, in the dark hours of the early morning. I used a bicycle to make the journey, to save money. On the way home, I enjoyed the fresh air on nice days, and the reasonable quiet of the roads at two … Continue reading The Samaritan
The Procession
By Anthony Ward It was the third consecutive year that Jared had sat outside the church on the Eve of St. Mark with the hope of catching a vision of the phantom congregation. The only eerie event he had experienced up until then was the spectacle of a Barn Owl that had swooped, banshee like, … Continue reading The Procession
The Bell Tower
By DC Diamondopolous Reverend Langston Penniman sat on the edge of his bed, stretching his black fingers. Everything had either twisted up on him or shrunk except his stomach. Once six-foot-five, he now plunged to six two, still tall, but not the imposing dignitary he once was standing behind the lectern in front of his … Continue reading The Bell Tower
Sliced Tomatoes
By Diane Gillespie Newly married, my husband Mike and I drove along Boskeydell Road through the hills of Southern Illinois on our way to a small farm. It was a warm summer day in 1970. Car windows open, our breaths became deeper and our bodies more relaxed as we observed the countryside, its woods and … Continue reading Sliced Tomatoes
Academy of the Heart And Mind 