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
Every morning I stand on that platform waiting for the train to arrive. And every day, on the opposite end of the tracks, another train comes flashing right by.
All the while, another flash flies through my mind: What if I just walked over there and took the other train?
Dylan Martin is a University at Albany alumni who currently lives in the New York metropolitan area. His passion for fiction tends to gravitate towards the characters involved, and as such, his writing tends to focus on the characters as well. See more at dm-writing.com.
When I first laid my eyes on her, I could not look away. Months later, I feel the same.
Charming and delicate, she is absolutely perfect. The only thing I would change about her is the way she shuts her blinds before she sleeps.
One day we will be together.
Samantha Baltz is employed in the medical field and currently taking up writing as a hobby. She loves meeting new people and hearing their stories and sharing her own.