LEO VANDERPOT: Isham Street

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

I’ve been thinking lately of that Isham Street apartment: 207th Street subway, took the A Train, non-stop 125th to 59th Street.

I never did fully furnish the place. Never completely rid it of cockroaches; never stopped trying. Rent was $350 a month.

My son, Abe, visited; and after dark, Natasha.

Leo Vanderpot lives in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. Starting with the days in the 1970s when he eagerly took workshops with Mary Cheever at the Briarcliff Library, he has written whatever surfaced — memoir, essays, fiction and poetry. A memory piece about donating letters by Dwight Macdonald to the Yale Library was published in Hinterland, a journal associated with the University of East Anglia.

DAVE MYERS: The Pitch

Amusing, Submissions, , ,

Movie execs brainstorm around a large mahogany table. The pitch: 1990’s action heroes in a period piece where they each play classical composers who must save the world. Casting so far: Stallone as Mozart, Willis as Beethoven, Van Damme as Chopin.

Suddenly, Schwarzenegger bursts into the room.

“I’ll be Bach!”

Dave is half father, half teacher, and half board game designer. He does not teach math.

TOM THRUN: The Greatest Love

Submissions, Touching, , , ,

My folks, per Tom Brokaw, were of The Greatest Generation. Raised in The Great Depression. Married in 1944. Farmed. Saved everything, always and forever.

Decades now since their passing, I’m still going through boxes. I never saw them kiss, but was not surprised to find… They saved each other’s Valentines.

Tom Thrun, a retired weekly newspaper editor in Wisconsin and Washington State, resides with his wife in Oconomowoc, WI. He is an incurable romantic, known to stay up late for Hallmark movies and reruns of Tom and Meg in Sleepless in Seattle, his red farmer handkerchief ready.

DAN WELSH: Intertia

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

He winked at her as he took to the stage. Forcing a smile, she wondered how many more times she could bare this rendition. By the second chorus, he’d traversed the bar and was on one knee before her. Drunkards cheered her nods and tears, oblivious to her blossoming regret.

Dan Welsh is an educator and writer from Manchester, UK.

ELISA BERNARDINO: The Beach

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

The sun sets low on the horizon. The fisherman rows his boat. The lamp he carries sways. The light of sun, sea, and earth is dazzlingly magnificent.

The boatman casts his net. You aim at your perfect Instagram picture: the boatman’s harsh reality.

You sip your Mimosa on the beach.

Ma. Elisa Bernardino wrote this story.

GIULIETTA NARDONE: Gift From the Sea

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, ,

“Go ahead and open it,” he said.

Inside the damp, sand-covered box lay a quivering starfish.

“Place it in the palm of your hand and make a wish.”

She followed his instructions then tossed it back into the sea.

“Why did you do that?”

“I wished for it to live.”

Giulietta Nardone is the author of Feel More Alive! 30 Brilliant Ways To Reignite Your Inner Spark.

MICHELLE WILSON: Hoarder: S8, E5

Adventure, Amusing, Odd, Submissions, , , , ,

“There’s safety in things,” the therapist explains, noting mile-high clothing, bric-a-brac, and boxes. “They won’t abandon you like the husband who vanished eight years ago. You’re filling the void with objects that can’t love you.”

But he’s wrong. The thing in the basement corner loves me.

When I feed him.

Michelle Wilson’s words have appeared or are forthcoming in Potato Soup Journal’s Best of 2021 Anthology, Rejection Letters, Maudlin House, Litro Magazine, The Drabble, 50-Word Stories, Literally Stories, Flash Fiction Magazine, and Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood, among others. She lives in Miami Beach, Florida.

LINDA JENKINSON: The Dog Walker

Artistic, Submissions, , , , , ,

I see her those early mornings whenever I can’t get back to sleep. On blustery winter days she rushes past wearing heavy layers, propelled by dogs on leashes. Swift, still fit and on a mission.

When she turns the corner, I amble down the hall and turn up the heat.

Linda Jenkinson writes flash fiction, fast poetry, and 50-word stories, but is decidedly slowing down.

MAJOKI: this season since

Artistic, Poetry, Submissions, Touching, , , ,

a fresh grave next to yours
preparation for a new sadness
dusting snow from your marker
placing a candy cane wreath,
once festive, looking forced now

a step back into the bitter cold
of December, not Christmas
another goodbye in your last year
still living the “since”
of this season

Majoki has been writing flash fiction for a few years and recently started posting his work on his website, faroutposts.com. He has also begun submitting some of his work and has had a few pieces published on 365 Tomorrows and Free Flash Fiction.