The story of the week for November 17 to 21 is…
Cinematic Divorce by Cath Swanston
KATIE ARMSTRONG: Unknown Certainty
A glow in the distance catches her attention. Wooden skis glide effortlessly between trees as she draws closer. She squints at the undeniable illusion. She closes her eyes. Glowing particles swarm on the backs of her eyelids, and her skis slip forward. She is entangled—gone and not gone, simultaneously.
Katie is a consultant by day and a writer by night. Her day job requires very rigid and logical thinking, so she uses writing as a creative outlet. She lives in Bozeman, MT.
RACE HARISH: We Will Never Forget How to Talk to Each Other
“The Bagel Place closed.” We grieve in my car.
We’re wasting gas; it’s more important to keep the music on. My parking pass still hangs from the rearview. I still think you’re the only person in the world who loves me.
Why is the sky here smaller than I remember?
Race Harish is an eighteen-year-old writer and poet currently studying in Williamsburg, Virginia. Some of their work can be found in Cast of Wonders, 3Elements Literary Review, and Blue Marble Review.
JAYE FRISINA: Holidays in the Yard
I lay with the mulberries under my grandparents’ tree. It’s July 4th, but they smell like the tired soil I played in on Thanksgiving.
I jam them into my mouth, fast.
They taste like visiting, but never staying.
They taste like home, but not my home.
They taste like hunger.
When Jaye was little, she would skip school to go to the library and then go home and draw on walls. Not much has changed. Find her at ThirteenthStory.com.
NELLY SHULMAN: The Warrior
The pink petal was as fragile as the skin Kate powdered with tender brushstrokes, as delicate as her eyelashes that resisted the drugs circulating through her tired veins, visible beneath the paper-thin skin of her hands. Blowing the flower away, she put on her helmet-like blond wig, ready for battle.
Nelly Shulman’s prose was published in numerous literary magazines and anthologies and she has authored three collections of short stories. She is a member of The Society of Authors (UK). See more at nellyshulman.blog.
LAURA BESLEY: Tomorrow
when the sky has been ripped apart by invisible hands, people will hide under beds, tables, each other.
But now, as dust shimmers down, commuters and shoppers and parents clutching children’s hands imagine it’s merely a smattering of spring rain. They open umbrellas in reds, yellows, and purples. Even cerulean.
Laura Besley (she/her) writes short and very short fiction and enjoys exploring big topics in small spaces. She has published four collections, most recently: Sum of her PARTS (V. Press). She is currently a Creative Writing PhD student at the University of Leicester, an editor with Flash Fiction Magazine and runs The NIFTY Book Club. Having lived in the Netherlands, Germany and Hong Kong, she now lives in land-locked central England and misses the sea.
MARINDA KOTZE: Escape
I was on my way to buy milk when I decided to walk further. One block became two, and soon the apartment buildings cast long shadows across the sidewalks. At each crossing I felt compelled to keep going. I’ll know when to stop. Right?
Is this how people go missing?
Marinda Kotze writes microfiction when she is supposed to be writing a novel.
SARAH SENFT: For the Love of Puddles
It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen – the mud kicked up from the puddles catching on the hem of her jeans as we walked. I followed behind, our steps in perfect sync, together. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so close to anyone in my life.
Sarah lives in Vancouver, Canada. She has a forthcoming publication in The Closed Eye open.
AUDRA BERGEVIN: Song of the Departure
These walkways once held herds of travelers, whose suitcases clicked against the tile, whose arguments with gate agents and tired wives flooded the terminal with a warm gray roar.
Tonight, I find empty benches and dark corridors. I hum to myself to fill space. My suitcase clicks to keep time.
Audra Bergevin is a graduate student and writer based in South Carolina.
STORY OF THE MONTH: October 2025
The Story of the Month is chosen from the Story of the Week winners announced from the past month.
The finalists for October were:
Back and Forth by Michelle Dinnick
Overdue & Outstanding Beauty by Bob Thurber
Waiting by Nick Di Carlo
Shared Loss by John Singh
My Mom by Sarah Flick
Full Potential by Emily Hall
The winner of the October 2025 Story of the Month is…
My Mom