Tag Archives: human condition

YASH SEYEDBAGHERI: Remote

Stories, Top Stories, , , , ,

I hunch over computer screens.
My wife tries to get me outside.
I have to complete these editing jobs. We have heating, cell phone bills, electricity, and groceries to cover.
She tells me I’m remote.
I shut down the computer. Take her hand. We walk into the night, clouds parting.

Yash Seyedbagheri is a graduate of Colorado State University’s MFA fiction program. His stories, “Soon,” “How To Be A Good Episcopalian,” “Tales From A Communion Line,” and “Community Time,” have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes. Yash’s work has been published in SmokeLong Quarterly, The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts, and Ariel Chart, among others. He has been working on a short story collection centered around two siblings and their quest for the American Dream. Yash lives in Garden Valley, Idaho.

SIM SHARIFI: The Zigzag Less Travelled

Stories, , , ,

The path to my school had a shortcut cutting diagonally through a square walkway. I always avoided it, figuring it wasn’t official. Then one day, I saw they’d finally paved it, making the route “real.” Guess I’d been behind the curve—and the crowd—all along, just stubbornly zigzagging away.

Sima Sharifi is linguist and translator, fiction enthusiast, and Vancouver-based author. Her debut novel is currently with the editor, readying for publication.

KEYLA CAMPBELL: Mother

Stories, , , ,

My heart still pounds when I think of her.
The screaming. The hitting. The abandoning.
She lays here in front of me and my heart still pounds.
But now she’s old, weak, fragile.
The hospital machines beep as she breathes.
Her heart pounds slower and slower.
And I forgive her.

Keyla Campbell is a writer who lives in Rhode Island.

LUCIA BLAU: Remembering

Stories, , , , ,

On the date that my father died, I shopped for Norwegian gifts. I made his favorite foods, creamed corn on mashed potatoes. I pondered his life – and his death. I remembered his smile, his grace, his strength, and his love. On the date that my father died, I missed him.

Lucia Blau lives in Minnesota surrounded by reminders of her Scandinavian culture. She wrote this to honor her Norwegian father and the pride he took in his heritage.

CAROLE PORTER: Magic

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

She used to think magic came from a magician’s wand and the words abracadabra.

Now she knows it comes from different kinds of wands; the sharp needle the eye surgeon pokes in her eye once a month to stop the degeneration, and the white cane she holds in her hand.

Carole Porter writes short fiction from beautiful Vancouver Island.

LIZ MAYERS: At McCusker’s Farm

Adventure, Submissions, , , ,

Behind withering cornstalks, we waited for the flying saucer squadrons. Each year, the all-night hypersonic zipping and spinning and illuminations mesmerized us.

We’ve never taken pictures. We’ve never tried to get their attention.

For generations we’ve kept quiet; we don’t want anyone telling us that we haven’t been seeing UFOs.

Liz writes from Western Massachusetts. Find her at LizMayers.com.

COLLEEN ADDISON: Healing

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Because I am sick, I imagine myself capable of astonishing feats. I fit my bare feet into the crevices of mountains. I leap off cliffs armed with spears to take on sharks. I fly. Where to? But I am not sure it matters, as my wings have yet to grow.

Colleen Addison did a PhD in health information and promptly got sick herself. She now lives, heals, and writes on a small island off the coast of Vancouver, Canada.

CAROL REEVES: Forever

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Colorful leaves drift on the pond like little boats. It’s fall and they’ve given their all. Mother Earth is calling them home—only to send them forth again in the spring, sporting new finery. Nothing on earth is gone forever, only rearranged. I find comfort in knowing that is so.

A prolific writer, Carol Reeves is loving the freedom and challenge of Flash Fiction. Her stories frequently reflect the vicissitudes and blessings of aging and can be found in Flash Fiction Magazine and 50 Word Stories. Carol’s memoir, “All the Little Miracles,” was published in 2022.

DEBORAH TAPPER: Stars

Adventure, Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

We counted bullets and money. Drank warm beer that fizzed sour across our tongues. Lay under wide skies and watched stars fall. You said they were bad souls burning, that I could wish on them.

I wish on one now, my cheek pressed against the bars.

Wonder if it’s yours.

Deborah writes at an old desk surrounded by five hundred pet bugs.

EILEEN MARDRES: Grandma, how did you get from there to here?

Artistic, Submissions, ,

By taking a long, winding pathway, eyes and heart open to the world and wonderous diversity of humankind and the beauty of nature. By traveling through a lifetime of adventure accompanied by loving family. Being loyal, being kind, taking risks, and embracing opportunity. Finding joy in life, parenthood, and you.

One of Eileen’s grandsons asked this question. It’s taken a year to find the answer.