BOB THURBER: Late Awakening

Artistic, Submissions, , , , , ,

A wide beam of sunlight slashed into the room. The window wasn’t where it should be and the doorway had been moved, and every piece of furniture had been transformed by age or substituted with an antique. Nothing was recognizable. Dust floated in the light. He breathed in the smell.

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.

MANDIRA PATTNAIK: Mary’s Little Lamb

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Monday morning: I know she’s wrong.

Tuesday: I think she’s wrong.

Wednesday: I ask my workmate, “She’s wrong, no?”

Thursday: I cook pan-roasted salmon, wait for her.

Friday: “Are you still angry, Baby?”

Saturday: “Sorry. I knew I was wrong.”

Sunday: We drive to the beach, curl up under stars.

Mandira Pattnaik is an Economics graduate who lets her degree gather dust while she word-weaves. Some of those pieces have made their way into Spelk, Lunate, Gasher, Star82, and fiftywordstories. She tweets @MandiraPattnaik.

CMF WRIGHT: Defined

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, , , ,

After Rapunzel donated her braid to Locks of Love, her head felt too light, like it might float away.

They called her selfless, saintly. They praised her for her sacrifice.

She couldn’t tell anyone the real truth—that she needed to learn who she was, without her hair defining her.

C.M.F. Wright writes sentences that occasionally turn into stories. Her short stories have appeared in Syntax & Salt Magazine and in the VSS365 Anthology.

ALYCE CLARK: On the Run

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Poverty’s chasing me. Getting closer all the time.

Bills due. Check spent. Emergency funds gone. Fridge’s close to empty.

Then something breaks. Again.

Doing without becomes second nature. Rolled coins, coupons, and the dollar store become tricks of the trade. Keeping poorness at bay. And I make it… this month.

Alyce Clark is adjusting to sheltering in place, practicing social distancing when shopping for essentials… and truly missing her grandmother.

MICHELLE CHRISTOPHOROU: Message in a Bottle

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

Greetings from July 2020. I’m watching a stickleback build his nest: his hustling, bustling busyness, his lips tug-kissing at leaves, his eyes turned blue and throat bright red with love. I really hope that, by the time this finds you—whenever, wherever you are—you can still watch stickleback too.

Michelle Christophorou’s short fiction has won and been placed in competitions, including the latest Strands International Flash Fiction Competition, and the Retreat West Fire-themed flash competition, for which she received a ‘Best of the Net’ nomination 2019. In another life, Michelle practised law in the City of London. Tweets @MAChristophorou

CLARISSE de JESUS: Death of an Atheist

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

My father struggled for air, his heart crushing the life from him. In the gloom, he was utterly alone.

I came to his bedside momentarily, whispered prayers for his soul. His breathing slowed down, calmed.

He closed his eyes. An unearthly voice spoke in his ear. And finally, he believed.

Clarisse de Jesus is the daughter of an author of a book on atheism. Follow the musings of her meandering mind at autumnleavesnowfalls.wordpress.com.

MARJAN SIERHUIS: I Promise

Submissions, Touching, , , ,

Someday, I will kiss your cheek and make you smile. I will wrap my arms around you in a warm embrace.

I will sing your favorite song at the top of my voice. I will stay by your side and vow never to leave. Mother, I will promise you this.

Marjan Sierhuis enjoys reading flash fiction.

KLYN AKWARANDU: Goodbye

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

Today, I am not coming home, you might as well rent my space out. I’ve found a home in someone else, and I’m not sorry I left the way I did. You have a choice to forgive and let me love another. As of today, I am dead to you.

Klyn Akwarandu is a multifaceted writer. He writes screenplays, poetry, books, blogs, short stories and music. He is usually associated with his pen name, “KLYNIC.” You can read his books on Wattpad and follow his writing at klynic.blogspot.com.ng.

THERESE DAWE-WOOD: Made in America

Adventure, Submissions, , ,

As she opened the door for the Amazon delivery she froze, felt faint.

“Jane Simon, is that you? Gosh, it’s been what, twenty years? We all wondered why you guys moved away without telling anyone. How are you!?”

She shut the door. Panicked; then remembered protocol. Bottom drawer. Burner phone.

Therese Dawe-Wood is a writer based in Michigan. She was one of the 2018 finalists for the Lansing Sidewalk Poetry Project and has had poems published in several places including Alluvian Press, Modern Creative Life, the 2020 East Lansing Arts Festival Poetry Collection, and Headline Poetry and Press. She was a featured contributor for Lansing Online News and is currently working on a collection of poetry about her work with her patients over the course of her career as a registered nurse. She has three children and five grandchildren who she adores and lives in Lansing, Michigan with her husband and her backyard crow who enjoys peanuts in the shell and McDonalds french fries.