Tag Archives: escape

HEATHER HAIGH: Settling Down

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Hitched tight, we moved to a red-brick bungalow bounded by a red-brick walled garden—neat as a pin, pinned in a red-brick estate, where floral-aproned matrons cooled bread by gosssiping windows and exchanged pie recipes; but because, after thrashing rain, I could sycamore-seed spin, inhaling petrichor—sometimes I could breathe.

Heather’s body is knackered and her brain runs intermittently on adrenaline, somewhere in Yorkshire, usually around three a.m.—when she does the only thing she can and spews words at the page in the hope of redemption.

RAN WALKER: The Best Magic Trick

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

There’s a mirror in the box that makes it look like he’s disappeared. This is his best magic trick. He’s so good at it he sometimes refuses to come out from behind the mirror, having convinced himself that disappearing leaves behind a wonder that can’t be achieved by being present.

Ran Walker is an award-winning author of over 30 books and the creator of the 100 x 100 micro novel. He teaches creative writing and lives in Virginia with his wife and daughter.

NINA WELCH: Lil’s Premonition

Adventure, Artistic, Submissions, ,

The morning moon blots against the blue sky like a thumbprint dipped in milk. A strange, off-kilter day. Grandma Lil in her kitchen sipping peyote tea. She still had a stash from that lost year in Mexico. Some bad trips. Numbs her headaches. Visions of Lucy in trouble are clear.

Nina Welch’s short stories appear in Literally Stories online anthology in February and March, 2024.  Her poetry appeared in Rats Ass Review, Aaduna Press for National Poetry Month, Girls on Film, Fandango 8 Poetry, and Fandango 8 Poetry and Short Stories. She was awarded first place at the University of Arizona’s Academy of American Poets competition judged by esteemed poet Carl Dennis. She lives in San Clemente, California and is a contributing writer for the San Clemente Journal.

BOB THURBER: Sanctuary

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

In my room of books, a tower of hardcovers supports a lamp. Neat short stacks serve as low tables. Even the bookcases are constructed of books supporting books, the volumes compacted pyramid-style. Old dogeared pillowy paperbacks are available to sit upon or kneel upon, depending on your degree of devotion.

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.

BOB THURBER: Lost At Sea

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

The widowed captain drank himself into a sorry state. The wind shifted and his life tilted toward the horizon. To right the ship, psychologically speaking, he steered straight for an iceberg, planning to execute a last-minute maneuver known as the bump and run. Rumors of his survival continue to circulate.

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.

WENDY K MAGES: A Unicorn in Winter

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Ephemeral mists waft against an azure sky. Lying on the grass, you peer into the heavens, watching frothy peaks float by. In an instant, she emerges, a solitary unicorn prancing toward snowy horizons. As billowing winds begin to whisk her away, she takes flight, vanishing into the firmament. Never forgotten.

Wendy K. Mages, a Mercy University Professor, is a Pushcart Prize nominee and an award-winning poet and author. She earned her doctorate in Human Development and Psychology at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and her master’s in Theatre at Northwestern University. As a complement to her research on the effect of the arts on learning and development, she performs at storytelling events and festivals in the US and abroad. To learn more about her and her work, and to find links to her published stories and poetry, please visit https://www.mercy.edu/directory/wendy-mages.

JEFF FRIEDMAN: Another Orpheus

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

“Isn’t this cosy?” I said.

“We’re in a box,” she answered. “I want out.”

The sun shone in the window, and a rainbow fell across her face. Over the years, our house had grown small. I pulled out a match stick and played my tiny violin. Even the dust listened.

Jeff Friedman’s tenth book, Ashes in Paradise, has recently been published by Madhat Press. Friedman’s poems and mini stories have appeared in American Poetry Review, Poetry, Poetry International, New England Review, Flash Fiction Funny, Best Microfiction 2021 and 2022, 2023, and The New Republic. He has received an NEA Literature Translation Fellowship and numerous other awards. Meg Pokrass and Friedman’s co-written collection of microfiction, The House of Grana Padano, was published by Pelekinesis Press in 2022

CHELSEA UTECHT: Monster

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , , , , ,

Mother read that story with the crumbs and the kids. So when she sent me into the forest, she gave me some bread.

I’d have crumbled it if there were witches, or bartered with wolves. But because my monster was the one sending me out, I ate it up instead.

Chelsea Utecht is an American abroad in Tbilisi, Georgia where she teaches literature and writing. A recent participant in the renowned Iowa Writers’ Workshop, she has been previously published in Fifty-Word Stories and her work is forthcoming in Shooter Literary Magazine.

FIONA H EVANS: Monkey Magic

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

“Which one of you kids drank all the milk?” your mother screams.

Children scatter like flies from the dead echidna you found by the road. You hope she doesn’t look up. If this gumtree was tall enough to touch the sky, you could mount a passing cloud and fly away.

Fiona H Evans is a ballerina who dances on dictionaries. She lives in Perth, Western Australia, on Noongar Boodja with a dog, a cat and a few bantams.

VERITY MASON: Goosebumps

Adventure, Artistic, Submissions, ,

Goosebumps flock my forearms as I sign my own death certificate.

Beads of sweat race, cool down my back; it feels good.

All I’m taking with me is my love of singing the gospel.

Never again will he own me.

One last call:

“Hey, Nungen, it’s me, Aaron.”

“I’m ok.”

Verity’s first love is writing and she has been honing her craft for many years. Well travelled, she once took a cruiser out to Alcatraz where she was locked in solitary confinement for an hour. “That hour felt like days,” she recalls with a sense of accomplishment. It’s experiences like this one that fuel her imagination. Published numerous times on spillwords.com, her portfolio of writing extends from the fantastic to the personal. Verity’s passion is to play with words, enticing and tickling you into her stories.