KATHERINE DARLINGTON: Rain

Artistic, Poetry, Submissions, Top Stories, Touching, , , , , ,

Her neighbor’s children
Are awake
Before the roosters crow,
And even in gray October
They play
In their treehouse
Before the sun rises

Drinking coffee on the patio,
As cool as it is,
She remembers thirty years ago
When a swing held
Her two children

She wonders:
Are ghosts real?

Katherine Darlington has articles in many publications including poetry anthologies, along with several published novels. When she isn’t riding horses or hiking on some mountain trail, she’s working on a story. See more of her work at katherinedarlington.com.

JOHN H. DROMEY: Revolutionary Revelation

Amusing, Puns and Wordplay, Submissions, , ,

The professor of Earth Sciences droned on and on. Finally, he concluded, “Therefore, it should be obvious that our planetary well-being is directly associated with its ongoing rotation on its axis.”

One student whispered to another, “What did he say?”

“I think he just made a declaration of spin dependence.”

John H. Dromey often has a story forthcoming somewhere.

REED BEEBE: Lovecraft’s Ghost

Amusing, Submissions, , , , ,

Lovecraft’s ghost typed out a horror-themed haiku on ectoplasmic paper:

The giant creature
had an octopus head and
long, very sharp teeth!

The ghost sent the haiku off to an editor for consideration, and envisioned that it would be published. The subsequent rejection letter was crushing: “Sorry; it’s too tropey.”

After years spent battling monsters and solving mysteries, Reed Beebe has retired to a quiet village to write fiction. Reed’s work has been published by AHOY Comics, Heavy Metal, and Soteira Press. Reed blogs about comics at medium.com/meanwhile.

ANDY HEDGECOCK: Harbouring a Grudge

Adventure, Submissions, , , ,

Beneath a brochure blue sky, listless waves scrape the slipway as sunlight dapples the hull of a bobbing sloop. From a hotel balcony across the bay, your binoculars focus on the headsail, pan down to the foredeck, and fixate on the corpse. Contract fulfilled.

You transfer the payment, as arranged.

“Biographical notes are fine,” said Andy Hedgecock, “unless they use contrived exposition to reveal the subject is, for example, a freelance writer from Nottinghamshire, UK.” commapress.co.uk/authors/andy-hedgecock.

BRIAN MAYCOCK: Changes

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , , ,

The ghost takes its time. After a lifetime of stress and rushing this feels fine. It will work its way up to haunting, perhaps its old boss or ex-wife.

There was only simmering hatred when it was alive, but now thinking about her brings unexpected sadness, the memory of love.

Brian Maycock’s short fiction has appeared in outlets including The Drabble, 101 Words and Paragraph Planet. He lives in Scotland.

TIM BOITEAU: Rite of Passage

Adventure, Submissions, , ,

Vince blubbered about not having what it takes to join the order.

We talked some sense into him, left him in the bedroom, standing before that scratched-up mirror.

Waited by flashlight on dust-covered furniture, tree branches scraping against the windows.

He never came back downstairs.

Turns out Vince was right.

Tim Boiteau lives in Michigan, is the author of the dark fantasy novel The Drummer Girl, and a Writers of the Future winner. See more at timboiteau.com.

NELLY SHULMAN: The Low Season

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , , ,

“As always?” asked the barista.

The wicker tables outside were soaked. The wind flopped the grey tarpaulin on the boats piteously huddling together in the harbor. The bright postcard swam in the puddle. He sneezed into a napkin.

“Could you make me hot coffee, please?”

The low season started today.

Nelly Shulman lives in Saint Petersburg and Berlin. She is an author of five novels and a collection of short stories. See more at nellyshulman.com.

STEPHEN TILDEN: Niche

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

I found a tiny niche today that might be a home, a perfect fit for me with gives where I bulge and lifts where I lean, a door that welcomes thoughts and holes in the roof the size of words that fill the house up when the total reaches fifty.

Stephen Tilden came across this website an hour ago and wrote this to commemorate the discovery. He has been looking for this for a very long time!

ALYCE CLARK: The Old Metal Box

Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

Hidden away in the old metal box were memories, smiles, and tears. Photos sprang to life. Prom. Senior trip. My college sweetheart. Former roommates. Friends now residing in Heaven. Dreams. Achieved and forgotten. An indescribable ache, followed by renewed hope. And maybe, just maybe, another run at those unachieved dreams.

Alyce Clark enjoys getting lost in short stories. Occasionally, she writes a few herself.