LORI O’BRIEN: The Eighth Color of the Rainbow

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

The sun shines down on trail-walking tree-hugging leaf-swishing green and wave-wading sand-sinking shell-seeking blue while memory-lost family-forgotten depression-ridden gray looks through cloudy eyes and clouded windows at rain-cloud skies. Wake up! Be the blue-gray mist on a morning meadow; be the green-gray sage of eucalyptus. Embrace gray to the end.

Lori O’Brien, an English and Creative Writing student at SNHU, gets her inspiration walking along the ocean in coastal New Hampshire and hanging out with her senior miniature poodle, Artie. Her work has been published in Snoozine Magazine.

YASH SEYEDBAGHERI: Thanksgiving For One

Artistic, Submissions, ,

I veer my cart into the line. I’m armed with Ramens, Doritos—and vodka. A treat.

A woman behind me peers into the cart. Laughs.

“Your cart’s more exciting. Big Thanksgiving plans?”

“Sort of.” I cover up the vodka. Consider putting it back.

But Thanksgiving for one requires liquid courage.

Yash Seyedbagheri is a graduate of Colorado State University’s MFA fiction program. His stories, “Soon,” “How To Be A Good Episcopalian,” “Tales From A Communion Line,” and “Community Time,” have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes. His work has been published in SmokeLong Quarterly, The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts, and Ariel Chart, among others.

MAKENZIE MATTHEWS-BEARD: Grammy

Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

I imagined she’d show up one day. I just didn’t think she’d be wearing a sparkly dress and a silver tiara. She danced in the waves of my sleeping brain, now unbounded by those who’d hurt her on Earth, and reminded me that in the end, your spirit always wins.

Makenzie Matthews-Beard is a second-year college student at The University of North Carolina Wilmington. She loves incorporating nature, nostalgia, and womanhood into mediums like poetry, prose, photography, and music.

BOB THURBER: Between Light and Shadow

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

An old man from an Edward Hopper painting woke up one morning drenched in light and blackout blind.

He said: “I remember the darkness right before being dabbed into existence with no notion of myself, only dots for eyes saturated with color. Hug me, please. Hold me until I die.”

Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.

JIMMY PAQUET: What Matters Most

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

“O Zeus, what awaits me?”

“Nobody knows,” answered the towering figure, his eyes closed. “Good and bad in even measure.”

Two jars rested near his throne. Zeus drew content from both. “This is your fate. It is the same for all. The what is unknown, you only choose the how.”

Jimmy Paquet is a Greek mythology aficionado who writes from the sky of Ottawa, Ontario. Through his writing, he endeavours to discover the universal truths hidden within the myths and legends of the world.

KATIE ARMSTRONG: Unknown Certainty

Adventure, Submissions, , , ,

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

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

“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

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

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

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

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.