CADENCE RAGE: Forever

Submissions, Touching, , ,

Nahla watched warily as they unpacked her belongings: bowl, leash, collar. Sooner or later, she’d have to move again. It never lasted.

A child scrambled forward, wrapping her in a welcoming hug. Warmth, unlike any other, flooded Nahla’s chest.

How long can I stay? she searched.

Forever, his eyes answered.

Cadence Rage is a musician, animal rights activist, and caffeine-addicted weaver of speculative fiction. She publishes flash fiction and hilarious observations at cadencerage.wordpress.com. Find her on social media @cadencerage.

ESZTER MOLNAR: Sunday Morning Heartbreak

Artistic, Submissions, ,

“Why would you do this to me?” the woman cries.

The café falls silent but she doesn’t seem to notice.

The man slowly removes her hand from his shoulder. He smirks as he gets up.

I can’t stop staring as she begins to sob, and I hate myself for it.

Eszter Molnar is a former teacher who lives by the windswept British seaside. She has been published in one of the UK’s biggest subscription magazines for children. By day, she cleans up after preschoolers, by night she writes flash fiction, picture books and Middle Grade fiction.

VERNAE COFFEE: Comfort in the Familiar

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Sunlight creeps through my bedroom window on the morning’s shoulders. Roosters crow and crickets chirp against the cargo train’s fading whistle. Cardinals dash from nandina berry bushes to plush dogwood blooms. Squirrels pose like monuments within towering blades of grass.

Our world has changed, but morning’s familiarity brings great comfort.

Vernae is new to the world of publishing, but is enjoying every moment of it. She began submitting her work for publication in 2018 and has been published several times. Her unpublished Children’s Book “Teddy Wet My Bed” was recently selected as one of five Finalists by Eyelands 2019 Book Awards in the Unpublished Books Category. Vernae prays for the health and safety of our families, nation, and world.

CONNOR WILLIAMS: Life Lesson

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

An important question was answered on one cool, mid-autumn morning.

A young boy, face full of pimples, asked a girl, mouth full of braces: “Who do you think is more ugly? Me or you?”

To which the girl replied, “You, for even thinking that this makes me ugly at all.”

Connor Williams has no idea what to write for a bio, but hopes you all have a wonderful May.

BOB THURBER: Camping At Horse Neck Beach Beneath A Horseshoe Moon

Artistic, Submissions, ,

That night, while our spouses slept, we bet double-or-nothing on which clouds would hit the crescent moon and which would slide beneath.

I picked right eight times in a row, transforming ten bucks into $1280.

Go again, she said.

I said, I think I need to see some collateral first.

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.

PITAMBER KAUSHIK: The Narrative Sandwich

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Plain bread is bland. So is salad and meat. Condiments alone are dramatically flavoursome, but beyond a couple spoons, even a craving heart finds them unpalatable.

A good story is a sandwich: it takes the tart, intense, and climactic, then stuffs it into the ordinary, bringing out something tantalisingly delicious.

Pitamber Kaushik wrote this story.

MELANIE MAGGARD: The Summer Before

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

Two sisters, best friends, ran to the pool’s edge.

Nostrils filled with chlorine, sunscreen, peanut butter. Mother called, but twenty minutes was forever when shimmery waves signaled.

Everything—the cherry Koolaid mustaches, the sticky fingers—would be wiped clean.

They bent knees, inhaled sharply, pinched noses, then jumped, holding hands.

Melanie Maggard is a flash fiction and short story writer living in Seattle. She works as a psychology professor for an online university but hopes to grow up to be an author some day.

TOM O’BRIEN: Lunch With the Boss

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

He’s not as smart as his haircut, nor sharp as his suit, and nowhere near as polished as his shoes. “Bright” would have to be on a triple word score before someone used it about him, but times are tough so you smile and say, “Very droll, sir, very droll.”

Tom O’Brien is an Irishman living in London. He has words on many websites and in several print anthologies. His novella Straw Gods will be published by Reflex Press this year.

JON FAIN: I See You

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

The eyes have it, above the masks, in a store less crowded, a town away. No one I know here, but recognizable–the eyes wide and searching and sometimes scared–because I see those same eyes in the mirror when I try on the mask, to see how I look.

Jon Fain wrote this story.