The story of the week for May 23 to 27 is…
Alien Nature by Patrick Yu
I love the speculative nature of this piece, and how open it is to interpretation. Plus I’m a sucker for poetic presentation.
SUSAN GALE WICKES: The Long Road to Friday
I tried to avoid his eyes. They were intent. They questioned, but I had no answer.
I quietly slipped the wallet back into the pocket of his pants. Well worn, they had seen better days… But so had we.
I had known, without even looking, that the wallet was empty.
Susan Gale Wickes spent many years in the newspaper industry, but is now devoting her time and energy to writing poetry and short stories. She has been published in Haiku Journal, Sleeve, and 50-Word Stories.
LOUISE EMMA POTTER: Motherhood
The unveiling mysteries of motherhood: stages of intense transformation, from daughter to wife to mother. Entrances, exhilarations, exits; lively childhood memories, intoxicating teenage adventures, disoriented adulthood choices. Happiness, madness, sadness. Empty nested. A rejoicing feeling of accomplishment. Gratified facial expressions as they leave. Adjustments, introspective silence, fulfillment.
Another cycle begins.
Louise Emma Potter was born in the United Kingdom and brought up in Brazil. She has been in the education field for more than 20 years and is a material writer and teacher trainer. Her website is teach-in.com.br.
MICHAEL ROYCE: Summer
She was a golden girl, and he fell in love each summer, a boyish crush undisturbed by consummation. One night, they danced closely to Venus by Frankie Avalon. He felt her warmth and wanted to kiss her, but fear restrained him.
In life, we turn some corners and not others.
Michael is a graduate of Portland’s 2011 Attic Atheneum, a one-year alternative to a MFA program. His published fiction and creative non-fiction have appeared in Bartleby Snopes, Blue Lake Review, The MacGuffin, PANK, Prick of the Spindle, Prime Number, and other on-line and print journals and anthologies. His series collectively called “Mississippi Freedom Summer in Eight Vignettes” was published in the “Best of the Net 2011” by Sundress Publications.
CANDACE KUBINEC: The Nonconformist
I didn’t know it then, but she was ahead of her time.
The other mothers baked and cleaned; she gave her time to help the poor.
The other mothers played cards and sewed; she read and played the piano.
My mother didn’t conform to her peers.
She taught me well.
As she writes, Candace wonders what example she’s setting.
KRISTEN VANBLARGAN: Hair
“How much?” the hairdresser asked. Delilah remembered how Sam would run his fingers through her hair. Never cut it, he’d say.
“Everything.”
When it was done, Delilah smiled at how strong she looked. As she walked outside, cool air caressed her nape. The world breathed as if for the first time.
Kristen VanBlargan lives in Queens, New York. Her fiction has appeared in Timeless Tales, and she blogs at kristenvanb.wordpress.com.
CLORIS CUI: What’s Next?
I wanted to buy a necklace for my wife as a Christmas gift.
Unfortunately, I really didn’t know what size fit her. Therefore, I decided to measure her neck size when she was asleep.
However, as I was putting a rope on her neck to measure size, she woke up.
Cloris Cui a student at Shenzhen Academy of International Education who wants to learn directing in university.
ZIHANG GE: The Right Seat
“Excuse me, I think this seat is mine.”
The woman showed me her ticket and shouted rudely, “See? It is mine. Piss off.”
I stared at the ticket carefully then stood aside silently.
As the train left the station, I whispered smugly, “You have the right seat, but wrong train.”
Zihang Ge, a student at Shenzhen Academy of International Education, is a zealot of DOTA 2, enjoys jogging and badminton.
JUDY ZHENG: Dream
“Do you know who I am?” I ask her in a gentle tone.
“I don’t know who you are, but there is one thing I’m certain about.” As she answers me, a sweet smile appears on her face. “You are not real. You are in my dream.”
I wake up.
Judy Zheng is a student at Shenzhen Academy of International Education. She is a girl who has a lot of strange, real dreams when she is sleeping.
HAO LI: Talking With Siri
“Hey Siri, are you a real person?”
“Yes, I am, Genius.”
“Well, how can you prove that?”
Poof!
Where the heck am I?
It’s black and I feel cold and lonely.
A voice comes up: “Hey Siri, how’s the weather?”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Genius. Come on, Siri!”
Oh, asdf!
Hao Li is a normal student at Shenzhen Academy of International Education.