Tag Archives: child

BOB THURBER: One Happy S.O.B. (Son Of a Blunder)

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , ,

My mother told me many times that I was a mistake, that if she hadn’t drank two Shirley Temples before dinner, and two glasses of wine with dinner, while on a date with the man who became my father, I’d still be dancing on a star, waiting to be born.

Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.

LISA MARIE LOPEZ: Christmas Memory

Submissions, Touching, , ,

Christmas dinner at Aunt Ruthie’s. The old man beside me looks familiar. He asks, “Ben, have you been good?”

His chuckle fills the entire room, and I remember—fluffy white beard, velvety red suit—Christmas at Grandma’s.

I grin, six again; and from somewhere, beyond icicled houses, sleigh bells jingle.

Lisa Marie Lopez resides in northern California where she enjoys quiet walks and writing fiction. She’s had short stories published in many different literary journals and anthologies, including Train River anthology and From the Depths literary journal. Say hello at facebook.com/authorlisamariefiction

EMILY ROTH: Flight

Submissions, Touching, , , , , ,

“Do you remember this?” I trace grooves in the plaque. An engraved spaceship glints, perpetually airborne.

Dad’s eyes remain closed, lips parted.

“We went to Cape Canaveral. You shook the president’s hand.”

Nurses appear and vanish.

I wonder if Dad feels like he’s floating. Preparing to sail into the unknown.

Emily Roth is a librarian and writer based in Chicago. Her writing has recently been published by Exposition Review, Brilliant Flash Fiction, and TL;DR Press, and she was shortlisted for the 2020 SmokeLong Quarterly Award for Flash Fiction.

BEN MIMMACK: A Chip Off the Old Block

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

The relentless sun beat down on the old man in the stern. Ahead, his son pulled in the net, easy movements belying the backbreaking effort. The man looked at the few, undersized fish in the boat and wondered whether he had been right to teach his son everything he knew.

Ben lives in Dallas where he is viewed with tolerant amusement by his wife and two small boys. He occasionally writes screenplays, which are primarily treated with indifference, but he lives in hope.

STEPHEN GOODLAD: No Son of Mine

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

It was only beach cricket. I bowled and he batted. The ball lingered an eternity in the patch of blue sky before plummeting towards earth. I was standing with outstretched arms when the full force of our relationship hit me in the mouth. “You’re no son of mine,” he said.

Stephen Goodlad started writing during the first lockdown in England having retired from work only a few months before, full of different ambitions. Writing has helped shape new ambitions and new challenges ahead.

SK CHYNOWETH: Nosfertini

Adventure, Amusing, Submissions, , ,

“Ouch!” I yelp, snatching back my hand from the water.

Blood beads, oozing from two dainty wounds.

“Maybe there really was a mix-up,” wonders my wife, picking up the baby soap.

We never did call the hospital back.

Licking her lips, our daughter smiles sweetly up from the bath tub.

Dr. SK Chynoweth is a humanitarian aid worker and pracademic living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She writes micro-sagas and other stuff in her spare time. See more at sarahchynoweth.com.

YASH SEYEDBAGHERI: Captured Love

Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

Mom never lets me visit.
Space is too tight. Writing deadlines.
No mention of a bedroom after a year.

If I question, she says love transcends space. I’m too domestic in attitude. Like Dad.

I spend weekends with movie moms.
At least it’s easy to capture and recapture a hug.

Yash Seyedbagheri is a graduate of Colorado State University’s MFA program. His stories, “Soon,” “How To Be A Good Episcopalian,” and “Tales From A Communion Line,” were nominated for Pushcarts. Yash’s work has been published in The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts, Write City Magazine, and Ariel Chart, among others.

MANDIRA PATTNAIK: Infinitude

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Packing his case, your son gives you a cursory look, and “Delhi” by way of alms.

You hurry to the kitchen, pack a lunchbox with heart-shaped cookies.

Afterwards, you picture him munching, smiling, thinking of you.

When he doesn’t answer your calls you’re sad, but sure he’s just busy working.

Mandira Pattnaik writes flash and poetry and has been published in Passages North, Amsterdam Quarterly, and 50WS, among other places. Follow @MandiraPattnaik

HAYDEN KAMIDE: It’s a girl!

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

It’s celebratory and devoid of any guidance on how hard it’s going to be. Life anew. They beam, hand you a baby. Everyone back slaps you. Hugs. Gifts. They never tell you how it will feel to find her on the bedroom floor with a needle jammed in her arm.

Hayden Kamide lives in New York. Probably not the hip part you’re thinking about, but the other part. He believes in the importance of kindness, yet recognizes his own hypocrisy, especially when he sometimes swears at people who cut him off in traffic. But, when it happens, he does feel bad about it… later. Much, much later.

CHERYL SOMERS AUBIN: Sleeping

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

A baby boy sleeps, tummy side up, arms and legs open in vulnerability and confidence. A mother puts a hand to his chest, feeling the rise and fall, listens to his ragged breathing. On the floor beside the crib, she lays on her side, curled inward, fear coiling around her.

Cheryl Somers Aubin’s work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, and online journals. She has an MA/Writing from Johns Hopkins University and is the author of The Survivor Tree: Inspired by a True Story. Cheryl teaches memoir writing and is featured speaker at book festivals and writing conferences.