Tag Archives: dreams

ALYCE CLARK: Fairies Are Real

Submissions, Touching, , ,

“Fairies are real!” she insisted, with a five-year-old’s unwavering conviction.

“I’ve never seen them,” I said.

“Wait,” she said, exasperated, leaving the room.

She returned, triumphantly, handing me a blue pillow, covered in stars like it was sacred.

“Here, use this! I see them every night when I fall asleep.”

This story was written by Martha’s granddaughter. Alyce will always be grateful for the 95 years of joy Martha brought to the family. She always made everyone feel special and loved. Alyce will miss her.

LISA CHAMBERS: Homecoming

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I had been away too long.

Back to the comforts of home. Familiar places, friendly faces, birds singing into the air that once sent my dreams aloft. Some long forgotten, others I could never let go.

Home is forgiving, though, patiently waiting its turn to claim “I knew her when.”

Lisa Chambers is a Texas girl who wishes all of you a happy holiday season.

SARAH SAMSON: Clostridium tetani

Artistic, , , , , ,

I know the future. You imagine yourself on your motorcycle with your scarf fluttering behind, a middle finger to the naysayers who believe the doctors.

But I know the future. You decided to repair that wooden chest with the rusty nails. You weren’t careful. One scratch and I was in.

Sarah Samson is a consultant, writer and corporate responsibility professional living in Portland, Oregon.

GB BURGESS: A Fantasy

Amusing, Submissions, , , , , , ,

“When I was little, I dreamed of being a mermaid,” Emily said, “with shiny scales and silky, long, blonde hair. Such a silly fantasy.”

She smiled, revealing fangs, then she lurched away with a flick of her tail, passing beneath the “Beware: Bunyips” sign and slithering back into the billabong.

G.B. Burgess resides in bunyip-infested swampland where she runs a drop bear sanctuary with her pet Thylacine.

CHIP HOUSER: Beetle in Her Pocket

Artistic, Submissions, , , , , ,

“I’m going to be an entomologist,” Isabelle says. Her dress doesn’t have a pocket, or she’d have brought one of her pets. Her hands feel empty.

“Sounds great, sweetheart,” her mother says, arranging her hair on her shoulders and ushering her toward the stage. “This time, smile for the judges.”

For a year or so we lived in Boulder. One day by chance we drove by Jonbenet Ramsey’s house. It still haunts me.

ALL PRICE: A Teardrop

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Time dripped away for Carol. A leaking tap. A drain. So much not done; and she turning forty.

No drink today.

Rain plopped from branches outside her window. Beautiful. Free-flow. Timeless. A wistful tear.

She dropped her bucket list, penned in outrageous swirls, out the window to soak in simplicity.

All Price has been published in Crannog Magazine and Foxglove Journal.

FRANK KOZUSKO: Biography – 920

Amusing, Submissions, , ,

As a kid, I loved reading and books and decided to be a librarian when I grew up.

I memorized the Dewey Decimal System. I went to the college with the best Library Science reputation.

Alas, hopes for a career among the stacks were dashed when I failed shushing class.

Frank Kozusko is a retired US Navy submarine officer and nuclear engineer. After the Navy, he spent 20 years as a university math professor. A few years back, he started writing poetry and has self-published several collections. In full retirement now, he is writing short stories.

BOB THURBER: The Eyelid Artist

Artistic, Submissions, , , , , ,

(For Trey, with everlasting love)

The last time the boy slept at grandma’s house he told her that portraits of her face had been painted on the inside of his eyelids, so that’s what he got to look at every night while he waited to fall asleep. He pinched finger to thumb. “Brush this big.”

Bob Thurber is the author of “Paperboy: A Dysfunctional Novel” and two collections of stories. A celebrated master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in 60 anthologies, received dozens of awards, and been used in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts where, despite severe vision loss, he continues to write every day. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.

ALIDIANE: Autobiography

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She was a girl. Big smile, lots of friends, big demands, bigger expectations.

She went to see the world to find herself. She had to fight to keep that smile big, make new friends, reduce her needs and realise that dreams are not always real.

She is a woman now.

Alidiane is an English language student in Dublin, Ireland. Originally, she’s from Brazil.

ISRAELA MARGALIT: Found and Lost

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

After an extensive search I found a great piano tuner. He showed me pictures of his paintings. I said he was very talented and he should be working on his art rather than tune pianos. Two years later he took my advice and now I don’t have a piano tuner.

Israela Margalit is a playwright, television writer, concert pianist, recording artist, and recently a published author of short fiction and creative nonfiction, with awards or honors in all categories.