GERALDINE McCARTHY: Quick Pick

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

“Statistically, it is almost impossible to win the Lotto,” her maths teacher used to say. Spoken like a man with a permanent, pensionable job.

For many years, Rita heeded his advice.

Now she shuffles to the till. Asks for a Quick Pick. Endures the pitying look. Says a silent prayer.

Geraldine McCarthy lives in West Cork, Ireland. In a former life she was involved in tutoring, lecturing, translation, and research. She has been writing short stories and flash fiction for nearly three years now. Her work has been published in The Fable Online, The Incubator Journal, Seven Deadly Sins: a YA Anthology (Gluttony, Wrath, Avarice), Scarlet Leaf Review, Brilliant Flash Fiction, and Every Day Fiction. See more at facebook.com/cruthaitheacht.

HARRY DEMAREST: Life in the Memory Care Facility

Adventure, Submissions, ,

He was used to the hallucinations that came with Lewy Body Dementia. He was no longer surprised when he saw bugs and animals crawling out of the walls.

So he wasn’t afraid when he saw a giant python slithering down the hall toward him.

Not until it swallowed him whole.

Harry Demarest hopes to publish his fiftieth 50-word story before he ends up in a memory care facility.

LUCAS CHAPMAN: Alone in a Hot Place

Amusing, Submissions, Touching, , , ,

The A/C crashes and I am alone, wishing for love. The heat creeps in. I sigh, knowing sleep will be difficult.

My head hits the pillow and I stick my foot out for relief. I hear from under the bed, “I’ll always love you.” And then claws tickle my foot.

Lucas Chapman studies English and History at Saint Louis University. He enjoys eating toasted ravioli and running unnecessary distances.

ALICE LAM: Courting the Past

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

The man’s hair is grey and his face worn with much thought. With gravity and authority, he announces the only possible verdict. The other man looks back at him in fear.

The next day, one of the orderlies takes away the retired judge’s mirror and the doctor ups his meds.

Alice Lam moved to Australia from the UK with her partner and they share a house in Melbourne, along with a cheese-seeking, greying Boxer dog.

Alice’s website can be found at alicelambooks.com.

GUY BIEDERMAN: Free Swim

Artistic, Submissions, ,

Across the pool some kid shouts MARCO, another answers POLO. But the deep end beckons. You hold your breath and push off.

The feeling underwater goes below words and comes up the other side. You surface, gasping, a hunger roaring, the high dive looming

with its cannonball lessons of life.

Guy’s work has appeared in many journals including Carve, daCunha, Blue Fifth Review, and Fifty Word Stories. He lives on a houseboat with his wife and two salty cats and walks the planks daily.

VIJAI PANT: Important

Submissions, Touching, , ,

Deadline is only some hours away.
His writer’s mind is obsessed with other thoughts.

He unsuccessfully tries to focus on the given assignment.
Eventually he gives up.

Sleep still eludes him.
Time ticks.
Notification beeps.
It reads, “You are my first thought each morning.”

He doesn’t respond.
He simply smiles.

Vijai Pant is a language teacher in a school in India. He is also a freelance writer.

AM BIGLER: Hunting Taliban

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

He flies above ruinous landscapes,
pondering patchworks of castles baked in mud.
Like Alexander, Genghis, and the Russians,
he yearns to find and best his enemy here.

What does it mean that these monuments of dust remain,
that the fortress of the steppe warrior endures?

As if awaiting a deluge.

A.M. Bigler is a pilot who reads and writes. Today, he lives in Wisconsin with his wife and two sons.

ALISON CARROLL: A Good Book

Adventure, Submissions, , ,

Philip sought a good book to live in.

He’d tilted at windmills with Quixote, rafted rivers with Huck, and fished with the old man in the sea.

Finally he decided to make a permanent home. With eyes closed, he chose the first book he touched and entered.

“In the beginning…”

Alison just loves a good book, or a short story for that matter.

ROBIN LUBATKIN: Pyrex-Worthy

Amusing, Submissions, Top Stories, , , ,

I sent you home with leftovers,
delicious homemade soup
spooned into a nice glass bowl
with a BPA-free lid.
I didn’t expect to never see you or it again.
I should have used a take-out container
from a less memorable meal.
You are quite forgettable.
It’s the bowl I miss.

Robin Lubatkin sings with the very young, the very old, and everyone in between.