STEVEN LEMPRIÈRE: Palindrome

Amusing, Submissions, Touching, , ,

Like a moth drawn towards a flame, I furtively skirt two expressions of perfection. The first, a beguiling creature; the second, a word.

Captivated at the zenith of beauty, by someone who possess perfect symmetry, both in their physical form as well as from a nomenclatural perspective.

Her name?

Hannah.

A short-listed writer at the Cúirt International Literary Festival in Ireland, and with stories published by Fifty Word Stories and Flash Fiction Magazine, Steven often reflects on symmetry, especially in the mornings when shaving.

NICOLA M SWANN: Little monsters…

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

I see them from the bedroom mirror. They’ve grown wilful; mother’s side of the family. Looking after them in my forties came naturally, but now? A sigh escapes me.

Nothing for it but to get rid of them, one by one.

I pull my right eyebrow tight and tweeze.

Nicola M. Swann enjoys reading and writing a short story or two while sipping tea.

JENNIFER FREED: Small Mysteries

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Her little brother wants his red matchbox car. How can she explain that, on impulse, she buried it with her own doll, imagining some future child unearthing them – imagining the toys as links between two distant times. She never meant to make her brother cry. But how can she explain?

Jennifer Freed writes mostly poems, and occasionally some very very short stories. Learn more at jfreed.weebly.com.

NIKITA LINIVENKO: Gonzo Recipe

Artistic, Submissions, ,

Start with truth and wait for fiction to reveal itself. Punch it up. Tenderize the truth. Add a dash of Hunter Thompson’s brains. Scraped off the wall. Drizzle with some mescaline. Garnish with spent casings and discarded drafts. What you get is mostly pulp, spiked and unsweetened. Distill with caution.

Nikita Linivenko hates writing bios in the third person.

FIONA KAMAL: Moment

Amusing, Submissions, Top Stories, Touching, , , , , ,

The crossing bleeps.

“Lily! Hurry!”

Lily rushes; her flower falls. With infinite care, she stoops, small fingers scrabbling for the thin stem.

“Leave it Lily!”

She straightens, in resignation twenty years too old. Her face says: of course the world would do this to my one, perfect thing, again, again.

Fiona Kamal is in training to be a mad cat lady. She lives in North Vancouver with three cat-loving daughters and a husband who is feline-averse. Isn’t tension the source of all inspiration?

CATHERINE BERRY: Honeyed Wine

Submissions, , , , ,

Her response to his betrayal didn’t come with the shouting or tears that he expected, but a sigh. She offered a toast to her freedom and his loss.

He laughed, drank the honeyed wine, and choked on the lingering hint of bitter almonds. Her smile was vindictive.

Till death, indeed.

Catherine Berry loves whimsy, potatoes, and singing with her dog. Her work has been published in several Trembling With Fear Anthologies & The Trench Coat Chronicles. More of her work can be found at www.caterinaberyl.blogspot.com.

REBECCA HAMLIN GREEN: Butterfly Child

Amusing, Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

Tongue in teeth, the girl carefully plucked a little yellow butterfly from the grass. It perched on her finger, then flew away awkwardly, leaving the tiniest of eggs at her nailbed. She thought about running home to rear it, her enwombed butterfly child, but baptized it in a puddle instead.

Rebecca Hamlin Green is a writer and visual artist living in Chicago, IL. Her art explores patterns in nature and how they reflect, define or disrupt our notions of what it means to be human. Her complete portfolio of visual works can be found on her website at rebeccahamlinart.com.

MARGARET MacINNIS: Declaration

Odd, Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

Barn swallows twitter-warble their declarations. From a darkened corner of the hayloft, I hear their bird-love songs, aching for my wife. I can almost feel her warm breath in that space between my neck and shoulder. My heart, kitten-tiny now, thumps rapidly.

I’d give anything to be a man again.

Margaret MacInnis lives, writes, and raises her daughter in Iowa City. Her work has been published widely, most recently in Brevity, Diagram, Ghost Parachute, The Rye Whiskey Review, and Thrush. She is working on a novel and a novella-in-flash, LIFE AS JAKE, MY WIFE’S THREE-LEGGED CAT.

TL BEEDING: Someday

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

It’s been years since I’ve seen you. Felt your touch. Seen your light. Brighter than the sun, to whom the tulips bow. You were their king; I their queen.

And now you’re gone. Gone with Spring, as Summer takes its breath. But someday I shall find you, my king.

Someday.

T.L. Beeding is a single mother from Kansas City. She is co-editor of Crow’s Feet Journal and Paramour Ink, and is a featured author for Black Ink Fiction. When she is not writing, T.L. works at a busy orthopedic hospital, mending broken bones. She can be found on Twitter at @tlbeeding.