By Craig Borri It was a sweltering August day, but that didn’t deter the three reporters waiting outside the gate. The gate was part of a ten-foot-tall fence enclosing a 2,000 acre forest preserve. Two lab assistants had just deposited several pounds of meat inside the fence, and their guide, Dr. Anne Phillips, had just … Continue reading A Dire Situation
Alive
By Viviane Simōes You look at yourself in the mirror and you don’t recognize the face you see. You are happy. “Hey, it’s been a while”, you think. And you look at the summer reddish dress on the bed; the dress you chose last night to wear today. You take a breath, it’s an excitement … Continue reading Alive
The Bell Rings
By Danielle Nagy Monday, the bell rings, and she pulls up her navy blue knee-high socks to make sure they hit perfectly below her plaid jumper, just what the teacher wants. Morning prayers go on over the loudspeaker. They stand. They pray. They sit back down. They listen, and they learn how to be good … Continue reading The Bell Rings
Little Red Bird
By Abigail Hyacinthe Woelk Cold cold cold. All I feel is cold. The warmth I knew is gone. All I am is cold. *** Her mother was of the Snowing Wood. Her mother’s eyes were cold and her fingers were icy, but she loved like anyone else. She had a snowy husband and her eldest … Continue reading Little Red Bird
Raven Day
By Cynthia Doll Julie eased down on the bed, face first, so exhausted and sore she couldn’t even lay down fast. She stayed sprawled out for some time, her mind going over chores accomplished and more still be to be done. The corral needed to be cleaned and she really had to get to the … Continue reading Raven Day
Benicia
By Kenton Erwin It used to be simpler, this business of the dead helping the dead. For over a thousand years the washer-fairies, the Bean-Nighe, emerged from mist and gathered by some frigid Scottish stream or lake, at night. Into their hands appeared the clothes of the good souls about to die. Rubbing the soiled … Continue reading Benicia
A Staging of the World
By Kaleb M Dufel PROLOGUE Even so in those older days, there was naught but the Script. The Script brought forth Life and the World1. The Script is the firmament upon which the Stage rests. All that is here is here because of the Script and nothing would be here without it. In the Script … Continue reading A Staging of the World
The Stranger in My Home
By Kelly Flanagan A low angry voice rumbled from the living room as Eve stooped to move clothes from the washer to the dryer. “You’re a naughty, nasty little boy.” She dropped the wet clothes on the floor before rushing out of the laundry room and through the kitchen. Eve’s mom had her bony hands … Continue reading The Stranger in My Home
Le Chat Noir
By Emily Gennis It was the kind of night that creeps up on soft, silent paws, and has its claws in you before you even know it's there. I was in my usual spot on the windowsill, watching a squirrel bury its loot and muttering all the things I’d do to it if I ever … Continue reading Le Chat Noir
Sunset at the Red Arrow Grille
By Joseph Carrabis Angie watched the old couple take booth 7. They sat on either side of the table, reached across and held hands. She sized them up quickly and smiled: dressed for Fall weather in old, well-worn, but clean clothes. Probably limited income, just got their checks. This is their big time out this … Continue reading Sunset at the Red Arrow Grille
Academy of the Heart And Mind 