Tag Archives: inevitability

BOB THURBER: Return of the Muse

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, , , ,

She moved methodically, cautiously, taking slow steps as if giving him time to react. She came straight to where he stood, and when he didn’t turn away, she opened her arms and pulled him into a soft embrace. “I missed you,” she said and squeezed, her breath in his ear.

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.

Author’s Note: So, I ask, which character is the muse?

J.S. O’KEEFE: The Rafting Fifty

Adventure, Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Apurímac River: A floating community of fifty drifts slowly toward the Amazon. Three generations share the raft, where daily life revolves around fishing, gardening, crafting, and teaching the children. There’s no hierarchy here; no mine and yours. They depend on trust, cooperation. Never anchored to land; anchored to each other.

J.S. O’Keefe has published over three hundred short stories and poems in print and online literary magazines. See more at szjohnny.net.

KARRIS RAE: Ever the One Moon

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, , ,

Suffocating under the weight of the moon, I left—down the street, across the town, into the plane, toward the sunrise, over the sea, out of my seat, onto the bus, between bright towers, among the strangers. Then night fell over the strange new land and the same moon rose.

Karris Rae is a fiction MFA/MA candidate at McNeese State University. Her chapbook, We Obedient Children, recently won the 2024 Etchings Press Chapbook Contest in prose. Her short work has appeared or is forthcoming in 100 Word Story, Fourth Genre Magazine, Eunoia Review, Mount Hope Magazine, and Gargoyle Online, among others.

CP LOPES: The Lot

Adventure, Submissions, , , ,

“The demons are coming,” the old woman said from the corner of her cell.

“When,” the sheriff asked.

“As soon as you kill me,” she replied.

“What if we don’t kill you?”

Cries from the townsfolk rose above the window.

“That’s not how this goes,” she said, her smile anticipatory.

C. P. Lopes is a Canadian writer whose brain is in a constant tug-of-war between fantasy and reality. She’s blessed with two amazing bright and talented children, a brilliant and supportive husband, and the most affectionate dog on the planet (#FightMe).

LAURA BESLEY: Farewell

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

This beach, with its smooth stones and jagged waves, was always your favourite, wasn’t it, Mum?

That’s why I’m standing here with you now, one last time, a small tin in my hand that I can’t bring myself to tip. But I know I’ll have no choice in the end.

Laura Besley squeezes writing into the beginning and end of her day, when her young son is sleeping. She has been published in several anthologies and online. She had recently moved back to the UK after ten years abroad.