LAURA BESLEY: Shapes of Loneliness

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Paying for company isn’t new to Alfred.

His father shoehorned him into a high position in the family business, and Alfred was keen to splash his cash about town. He dated, he married, he dated some more.

These days company is in the form of a television, programs carefully chosen.

Laura Besley writes short fiction in the precious moments that her children are asleep. Her fiction has appeared online, as well as in print and in various anthologies. Her flash fiction collection, The Almost Mothers, was published in March 2020. She tweets at @laurabesley.

JAMES BURT: Dog-Walking

Adventure, Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

Revenge kept Miss Felpham alive. As she outlived the rivals and tormentors of her youth, she took pleasure in walking her terrier among their graves. It had taken some training, but the dog would now do its business on command.

Each morning, she took her time picking the day’s spot.

James is a writer from Brighton, and is currently working on a book of stories about the South Downs Way.

DAVID HENSON: The Prize

Amusing, Submissions, , , , ,

Life is about winning the prize. He thinks nothing can stop him but always ends up back where he started. Get after it again. Success requires dogged determination, and he has it aplenty.

Again he attains the prize. Again it’s tossed away.

Never give up. Never.

Squeak squeak. “Fetch, Boy.”

David Henson and his wife reside in Peoria, Illinois. His work has has appeared in numerous print and online journals. His website is writings217.wordpress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @annalou8.

CELINE LOW: Woman by the Window

Artistic, Poetry, Submissions, , , ,

He knelt, burying
his face in her waist,
the knowledge
of how many times he’d die
for her

choking
so he
could only say

you have no idea.

Held fast, she
(looking out the misted glass
at the crabapple trees with their pink heads
thinning)
echoed

you have no idea.

Celine Low lives in Singapore, a tiny country in Southeast Asia with a hodgepodge of cultures. She holds an MA in English Literature and loves to dance and take long walks. Her works have appeared in Blood Moon Rising Magazine and 9Tales From Elsewhere.

ANN KATHRYN KELLY: Shine

Submissions, Touching, , , ,

She smiles at the young woman in the photo: bottle-blonde, bright-eyed. Her hair always drew compliments. It was freeing, being 22, radiant, at the start of everything. Her fingers comb through current locks; tinsel strands that wink. She smiles again. Gentlemen may prefer blondes, but nothing shines brighter than silver.

Ann Kathryn Kelly lives and writes in New Hampshire’s Seacoast region. Her essays have appeared in a number of literary journals, found on her website at www.annkkelly.com.

BEN MIMMACK: A Better Place

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

Frank used to hold shells to his ear so that he could hear the sea. But there are no shells here.

He’s not sure why Mom likes this place. There’s no beach. No swimming. No nothing.

If Mom keeps smiling though, Frank thinks he won’t really mind about the shells.

Ben lives in Dallas where he is viewed with tolerant amusement by his wife and two small boys. He has just started writing micro fiction and hopes to get better at it.

ROBB LANUM: Last One Awake

Submissions, Touching, ,

Dan remembers being the last one awake: tucking legs under blankets, clearing toys off pillows. Then years when he couldn’t compete with PS4 and streaming, asleep before the texting stopped.

He’s here again: last one awake. Closed doors, lights that haven’t been on in years.

He thought it wouldn’t hurt.

Robb Lanum is a failed screenwriter in Los Angeles. His longer, epic works have been appeared on 101words.org.

ROBERTA BEACH JACOBSON: Funeral Flowers

Adventure, Submissions, , ,

It was the job of Sharon’s dreams. The interviewer rattled off a string of easy questions: “Professional goals?” “College grades?”

Then… “Any personal hobbies?”

Sharon squirmed. Should she tell him about the three bodies buried in her backyard?

A long pause. “Um, I garden,” Sharon responded. “White lilies, white mums.”

Roberta Beach Jacobson won first place in the Iowa Poetry Association’s 2020 competition for her haiku.

JENN LINNING: Plot Hole

Amusing, Submissions, Top Stories, , , ,

Such meticulous planning: poignant prayers, elegant oak casket, extravagant flowers. All ruined.

Overlooking the river from the flower-adorned hill, the plot I picked had guaranteed eternity with a view.

And what did those imbeciles do? Lowered me in backwards. Now I face eternity gazing uphill at my own rotting feet.

Jenn is a former English teacher who has only recently entered the world of writing. She decided to begin with flash fiction and has quickly fallen in love with the crafting of very short stories. Jenn is a Scot based in Manchester, UK.