Tag Archives: life

RYAN CICAK: After Her

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , , ,

Fresh cut grass smell. Saturday morning. Cheerios and cartoons, pajamas until lunch. Dad came in, sunburned and glistening. He made lunch, turned the game on.

“Dad! I have two more shows!”

“Go take a bath,” he said, pungent.

Mom used to let me wait.

Monday’s bus still one day away.

Ryan Cicak has published poetry and creative non-fiction before, primarily through the award-winning American River Review, once winning an award for a sestina about zombies. “After Her” originally appeared on his website, Etceterocity.tumblr.com.

SALENA CASHA: The Air We Breathe

Artistic, Submissions, ,

My grandmother says, “Words are your air and, to keep breathing, your pen must move forward. Immortality exists only on paper.”

I’ve paused before, but never stopped. Still, my hand tires. After endless inked pages, words lose their gravity. So I pen the last letters that mean anything anymore: goodbye.

Salena Casha’s work has appeared or is forthcoming in Bete Noire, The Adroit Journal, Fifty-Word Stories and others. Her picture book will be published by MeeGenius Books this summer. Follow her on twitter: @salaylay_c.

MIRANDA THOMASON: Crazy

Odd, Submissions, , ,

“Do you feel like you are crazy?” she said with a brief pause.

When all she got was a look, she continued, “Because I do. All these people around me talk about things no one cares about. They go from work to home and back again. How is that living?”

Miranda Thomason lives at the southern tip of the Appalachian Mountains. After completing the novel On the Mercy of the World, Miranda is writing short stories.

EILEEN MCINTYRE: Lemons, Lemonade, and Life

Amusing, Submissions, , ,

I face a conundrum. It’s that old saying about taking life’s travails and making lemonade. Why? Lemons are bitter. Add water and sugar – the result is still bitter. So there you are alone with your problems trying to make something.

My solution: go out for ice cream. You’ll feel better.

Eileen McIntyre is a writer from Northern California working on her first mainstream fiction novel. One of her essays will be published in an anthology by the end of the year.

JOHN B SINCLAIR: Reality Check

Amusing, Submissions, , , , , ,

2184: Earth’s survivors occupy government-controlled cells provided with oxygen, power and sustenance, or OPS.

Number 215296045 activates his TV to discover he is live on screen.

“Tonight’s randomly chosen contestant on ‘Dying to Live’ is 215296045. Your task is to survive one hour without OPS. Understood?”

“What’s my prize?”

“Another hour without OPS.”

John B Sinclair is a much-travelled Scot who has now returned to Scotland, where he enjoys freelance writing on a variety of subjects.

EILEEN MCINTYRE: The Writer’s Life

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

As a writer, I feel the need to revise, to rewrite my life. I won’t ever get the chance: it is the first draft that gets published.

Upon my death, my life will be summed up in words.

I hope the words are kind. I hope the words are true.

Eileen McIntyre is a writer working on her first mainstream fiction novel. Eileen lives in Northern California with her ardent fan, her husband Michael.

DEVIN HUBBARD: Autopilot

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

If Bunny didn’t get off here, she never would. She would stay on this same road for the rest of her life.

This road would bring her happiness. “Happiness, nothing more,” she thought. Screw that.

She jerked the steering wheel hard, just catching the exit to the road less travelled…

Devin Hubbard is a neuroscientist by dawn, moonlighting writer by dusk.

TIM SEVENHUYSEN: Shastonbury

Artistic, Poetry, , , , ,

In Shastonbury children weep
for want of food and lack of sleep.
They drink the rain and talk to sheep
in the ancient town of Shastonbury.

Shastonbury, I’ve heard tell,
is like a wetter form of Hell.
They rue the clouds and curse the smell,
the shepherd boys of Shastonbury.

Leave the World Better Than You Found It

Amusing, , , ,

“Today I’m a veritable wellspring of joy and enthusiasm! Let’s go make the world a better place!”

“It’s raining.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“My clothes are all dirty.”

“The rain will wash the ones you’re wearing.”

“I’ll never be younger than I am today.”

“…Wanna stay in and order Chinese?”

“Yes, please.”

This story was based on the prompt “wellspring” at TypeTrigger.

TIM SEVENHUYSEN: Oatmeal

Amusing, Puns and Wordplay, , , , , ,

My life is like a bowl of oatmeal. It’s bland, grey, and kind of lumpy, only becoming bearable when I pile on the brown sugar.

Unlike the rest, the “brown sugar” part isn’t a metaphor. I crave the stuff constantly, by the bowlful.

Ironically, I’m kind of a bitter person.

This story is based on a title suggested by @cthomlan.