BOB THURBER: Father’s Day Again (For Sarah Kate 1980-2010)

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

I still can’t get through a week without thinking about her.
Some deep-rooted memory sparks, my heart ignites, my thoughts wander.
She feels close. Alive again. If not in this house, this town, then the next.
In my heart no time has lapsed since I last saw my daughter’s smile.

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.

EILEEN MARDRES: To Be a Father

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

My sons. Fathers. Labour and birth. Nocturnal baby cries. Partners’ children, now your own. Teacher conferences, school field trips, patient games of chess. Working hard. Paying (hard). Concerts, dance recitals, sports, and more. Escorting brides, assisting grooms. Long days in hospital rooms. Tears shed. Laughter shared. Love, not biology, defines.

Eileen is a mother to four loving and supportive fathers, all of whom make her proud.

BELINDA SAVILLE: Pivot

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

I furnish a trail of breadcrumbs, teardrops on pavement, as we leave the psychologist’s office.

“Your son has autism.”

Your tiny hand finds mine as we walk, my mind somersaulting over what our life will look like now.

“Mum, can I get a milkshake?”

Nothing changed.

Everything changed.

Belinda Saville is a Sydney-based jeweller who started writing to help her teenage daughter with high school English and find the joy therein. She is infatuated with the inherent beauty of gemstones, and of the written word.

MARY ROHRER-DANN: Blessing

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , ,

When he cannot sleep, he counts the cats chasing invisible grasshoppers across the ceiling. Some nights, one might pause, beryl eyes luminous, and leap down onto his bed. Tonight, a fine-boned grey, soft and silent as fog, lands lightly, curls against his hip. As Emily had for so many years.

Mary Rohrer-Dann writes narrative poetry and flash fiction and publishes in a variety of venues.

JENNIFER L FREED: Emptying My Parents’ House

Submissions, Touching, , ,

Every shelf, every drawer, every closet packed with precious trinkets and antique books and 50-year-old rulers, knitting needles, lace.

I find my father’s WW II dog tags, my mother’s middle school history notes. A box of radio tubes from before transistor radios.

Dense layers of things separating them from death.

Jennifer L Freed writes mostly poems, and sometimes very short stories. Find her at @jenniferfreed20 or jfreed.weebly.com.

KIM SMYTH: The Haunted Mansion

Adventure, Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

As the group approached the house, it was clearly uninhabited.

The windows were dusty, cobwebs hung in every corner.

“We gonna do this or what?” Jake asked the group. No one spoke.

Creeping around back, even before gaining entry, they felt the presence.

Emily said, “I’m out!”

Everyone else died.

Kim Smyth is a freelance writer/blogger studying to become a transcriptionist. Find her at her blog, Words on a Page, or on Medium.

JENNIFER LAI: Feeding Time

Adventure, Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

The baby monitor crackled to life at 2:30 AM with my son’s cries. As I rolled out of bed, a gentle shushing and humming came through the speaker. Followed by silence. Relieved, I tucked back under the covers, then heard my husband mutter, “Thanks, Honey, I’ll get him next time.”

Jennifer Lai lives in Washington state. When she’s not reading or writing, she’s busy tending to her pet rocks and dying pepper plants.

DEIRDRE SMITH: Trickster

Artistic, Submissions, , , , , ,

We walk through the old cemetery, reading 19th-Century gravestones.

The ancient trees tower.

Their roots lift the pavement as if pushed up by the hands of those below.

I maneuver the stroller as she tells me stories of ravens that would swoop down and steal newborns out of their prams.

Deirdre Smith (B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed.) has dabbled in writing for as long as she can remember. She has recently started back to work as a teacher and Guidance Counsellor after a decade of being a stay-at-home mom to her three young children. She resides in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

BIRGIT K GAISER: The Ritual

Adventure, Odd, Submissions, ,

The room was ready for the ceremony, as per the instructions. Damian began chanting and soon felt a powerful presence. He opened his mind, permitting it to enter.

It felt familiar, but strong. Too strong.

Damian’s grandmother looked down at her new, young body and smiled through her grandson’s lips.

Birgit hails from a small German town and lives in Scotland now. She’s been a research scientist, project manager, and scrum master, and loves to escape the real world by reading and writing fantasy, science fiction, horror, and other fiction.

KEITH HOERNER: They Talk of the Days When We Made Our Own Choices

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

New Town residents consist of families only, according to Rule 421A. Specifically, a husband and wife and two children—only. The Rule’s Part B allows for offspring to be any combination of sexes. Residents find this flexibility to be comforting. It’s not allowing any form of disability that cripples them with fear.

Keith Hoerner wrote this story.