BETH ROBERTSON: Literature Lovers

Submissions, Touching, , ,

“What’s your favourite book?” the librarian asked, as they walked through the aisles of novels.

“Gatsby,” she mumbled. “I love the way they talk.”

Suddenly, she crashed into someone.

“Sorry.” She looked up to the handsome man. “That was an accident.”

“It takes two to make an accident,” he smiled.

Beth Robertson is a 19-year-old writer based in Glasgow who carries around a little notebook and pen at all times.

Editor: The final line is a quote from The Great Gatbsy, the novel the first character mentioned, for those of you who might miss the reference!

KASTURI PATRA: Lessons From the Sea

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

While I tried not to worry about problems,
He walked into the sea.
Foams splashed against him.
He stood still,
Absorbing the moment.

A monk’s soul, a bird’s spirit, and a baby’s happiness
Reflected in his being.

The three-legged stray dog
Unknowingly
Taught me the best lessons in Inner Peace.

Kasturi is an equity analyst and an aspiring writer. She currently writes microfiction on her blog and aims to start writing a novel soon.

GUILLERMO CRUZ: So, You Have Problems?

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Early morning. I have to run. I need to get to the office early. So many things to do! So many reports, meetings, and obligations. Problems everywhere!

I pass by a big dumpster and instinctively glance inside.

A man, lying among the garbage, looks at me and smiles. “Good morning!”

Guillermo Cruz is a Phd student in the School of Management at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil. His research interests focus on the institutions of our society, how they emerge and are sustained, how they constrain individuals inside and outside organizations, how they are disrupted, and, especially, how institutions are immersed in the flux of objectification of human individuality. In his free time he likes to reflect about the futility of our modern life.

RONALD CHILCUTT: Five Out Of Seven

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Alarm sounds.
Shower. Eat. Walk the dog.
Drive.
Greet, instruct, answer, model, and guide. Wonder, marvel, and rejoice.
Eat.
Meet, collaborate, and argue. Listen and advise.
Drive. Walk the dog.
Embrace, observe, assist, fix, and moderate. Eat. Clean, relax, remember, forget, and never regret.
Walk the dog.
Thank.
Sleep.
Repeat.

Ronald Chilcutt is a 45-year-old High School Special Education Math Teacher who lives in the greater Chicago area. He lives with the love of his life, their two kids, and a dog. Ronald has always believed that there is a great American novel buried in him somewhere, but has not found the right shovel to dig it out.

JOANNE R FRITZ: The Assistant

Amusing, Submissions, , ,

In every job she ever had, she’d always been an assistant, never the boss. This had to change.

But clawing her way to the top took such a long time. Better to sit back, read her magazine, sip her large latte.

And wait for her boss to open the package.

Joanne R. Fritz lives in West Chester, PA. Her short fiction has appeared in Vine Leaves Literary Journal, Every Day Fiction, and Twisted Endings.

FABIO VACARO CULAU: An Ordinary Man

Artistic, Submissions, ,

Once upon a time there was an ordinary man.

Once upon a time there was an ordinary man who was conscious of his mediocrity.

Once upon a time there was an ordinary man who was conscious of his mediocrity, so never said a word.

He died as a wise man.

Fábio Vacaro Culau is an eternal learner who loves writing and sometimes dares to share his words. Read some of his writing on his blog.

SARA: Catastrophe

Amusing, Submissions, , , , ,

The smoke was so thick that I couldn’t breathe. Pieces of metal were everywhere. The room was covered in red liquid. I looked at my hands and screamed with terror. My whole body was aching. I had never experienced anything like this.

I will never make toast with ketchup again.

Sara wrote this story.

Editor’s Note: I really wanted to title this “Catoastrophe”, but that would have spoiled the reveal!

SARAH SCOTT: Thunderclap

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, Touching, , , ,

“Lightning never strikes twice.”

Mom chanted those words anytime something bad happened. She kept the family on track, always smiling.

When the cancer came back, the smile momentarily left her face.

“So much for the laws of lightning,” she said, before she started cooking, filling the freezer with our favorites.

Sarah Scott lives in some part of Canada where she is currently searching for an algorithm to automatically generate witty, one-sentence bios. You can check out some of her writing at oneforonethousand.com.

PERRY McDAID: Alien Organ Syndrome

Amusing, Submissions, , ,

“We have no choice,” the captain sighed as he initiated the release of the toxin. “He was getting too curious.”

The biologist’s eyes widened slightly as he died. The organic craft he had always identified as his appendix detached from his intestines and followed the flow as he voided.

“Cloak!”

Irish writer Perry McDaid lives in Derry close to the Donegal hills. His diverse writing disciplines and genres appear in international multimedia, recently with entropy2, Amsterdam Quarterly, Flash Fiction Chronicles, Plotters Ink, Alfie Dog, and 50wordstories. He has one imaginary cat, Stinky, who is mostly nailed to a board above a ruined allegorical flower bed.