During the night, Alise often left the ground floor bedroom she shared with Matt, sleeping instead in the spare room upstairs.
She liked waking early and standing by the window. The view offered promises, lifting her hopes as high as her location.
Then Matt would wake and bring her down.
GB Burgess loves her two-storey house.
William Stanley Merwin passed away earlier today
and tonight there is something seriously wrong with the sky.
The moon is misaligned, hung crookedly low, a cockeyed smile
and all around there’s something the matter with the stars,
those that shine, those that hide, and those that blink like signal flares.
Bob Thurber is the author of “Paperboy: A Dysfunctional Novel” and two collections of stories. A celebrated master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in 60 anthologies, received dozens of awards, and been used in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts where, though legally blind, he continues to write every day. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.
The crackling campfire illuminated her birth name, carefully inscribed in large, looping cursive.
She hadn’t expected this letter. Not after the way she’d left.
A dry sob clogged her throat—or was it simply smoke from the fire?—as she dropped the envelope, unopened, into the heart of the blaze.
Devon R. Widmer is a grumpy graduate student by day, a scribbling daydreamer by night, and a sleep deprived parent full time.
The story of the week for March 18 to 22 is…
Before the Fall by Tanya Zilinskas
“Where were you on the evening in question?”
Robert stared at the officer. He’d been in his car, waiting and dreaming. He’d been a musician giving a concert in Naples, a mechanic fixing engines in the Sahara, and Superman taking a short trip to Mars.
“I was everywhere,” he replied.
Patrick Mc Loughlin is an English Language Teacher in Ireland who dabbles in writing. He also dabbles in painting and music and someday hopes to do more than dabble. He lives in the west of Ireland, where it’s hard to concentrate.
Lights pulsed outside, and the bottles behind the bar clamored as a saucer-shaped spacecraft settled in the parking lot. Connor took a long, slow drink of beer as people ran out the back door and then muttered through his mustache, “Come friend or foe, I’ll not abandon an Irish stout.”
Eddie D. Moore travels extensively for work, and he spends much of that time listening to audio books. The rest of the time is spent dreaming of stories to write and he spends the weekends writing them. His stories have been published by Jouth Webzine, Kzine, Alien Dimensions, Theme of Absence, Devolution Z, and Fantasia Divinity Magazine. Find more on his blog.
“Can you drive?”
“I don’t see why that would matter when I’m applying for a banking position.”
“You need reliable transportation.”
“I get around,” Rick replied as he patted his guide dog’s head.
“We’ll be in touch.”
After twenty interviews just like this one, Rick knew that they were lying.
Rebecca Holland is a visually impaired writer from Pennsylvania. She is the author of the chapbook “Through My Good Eye: A Memoir in Verse” and her work has appeared in The Drabble, Bold Blind Beauty, and CAPTIVATING, among others. She blogs about faith, books, and disability awareness at BeckieWrites.com.
Kinny stormed inside. He threw aside the briefcase, turned on the TV – “…was acquitted on all counts…” – and strode into his study.
He admired his model city.
But it was time for some development.
He widened highways and crushed the courthouse.
“…news just in of the sudden implosion of downtown’s…”
Joey thinks some people should play with models instead of screwing up the real world.
This wasn’t what Sibyl expected when she signed up for digital detox.
The man with the pronounced brow regarded her quizzically. She needed a translation app, location finder, ride service; the phone was no longer in her pocket.
“I think I’m from the future,” she said.
He raised his club.
Tanya Zilinskas is a writer living in Northern California. She is only mildly afraid of the dark. See more of her work at tanyazilinskas.com.
Our children lost their connection. They could have learned from our mistakes, but in our quest for secrecy we hid the wrong things. We gave them the wrong stories.
They must learn the Earth’s magic, forget their alien origins. Time grows short.
We will not take them to another planet.
Rae Stinger writes from her home in Salem, Oregon, and awaits the return of her alien ancestors. You can find her on Twitter. @raestinger