Tag Archives: support

ANGELA CARLTON: Wearing Clouds

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, , , , ,

You pushed me high on swings at five, mother, so I could FLY.

Sometimes, I’d jump on merry-go-rounds, spinning-spinning, giggling, catching breath, before I was in your grasp.

After cancer took you, I found my way back, swinging, spinning, at nineteen, you, a faint whisper in the breeze, wearing clouds.

Angela Carlton’s fiction has been published in Every Writer, Everyday Fiction, 6S, 50 Word Stories, Spillwords Press, and Paragraph Planet. In 2018, her story “The Roommates,” was made into a short film. In 2023, her story “Swallowed,” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. See more at Angela Carlton Stories & Art on Facebook.

SI CHEN: A Swing Has Two Ropes

Submissions, Touching, , , ,

My daughter loves swinging. She can ride it for hours. I wondered what she found so captivating about it. One night, after putting her to bed, I sat on the swing behind our house. Nothing happened. The difference, I realized, is she has a pair of hands behind her, pushing.

Si Chen is an oceanographer by training and a fiction writer by instinct. He is working on a collection of short stories.

MICHAELE JORDAN: Ambition

Amusing, Submissions, , , , ,

“I want to be a writer,” she said. She feared they’d try to stop her. But they didn’t. Her teacher promised to help.

“That’s wonderful!” exclaimed Mom. Grandma’s face lit up.

Dad set up a desk for her.

So she pulled the keyboard toward her.

Nothing happened to the paper.

Michaele Jordan wrote this story.

STEVE DOHERTY: Encouraging Father He Was

Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

“So what? Strike out, ground out, and fly out. You’ll get four chances on Tuesday against Westport.” A hit, struck out once and walked. The average went up. Thank you.

“Big deal! One more class in the summer and you’re a college graduate.” Thanks, August diploma.

Memories.

Happy Father’s Day.

Steve Doherty wrote this story.

HEATHER HAIGH: We Call it Home

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, Touching, , ,

It takes a village, beneath a granite sky, to house a church that houses a casket that houses a heart now stilled that housed our love and my future. It takes this village to house one woman with slack-skinned, age-spotted hands. Hands which wrap around mine to hold me together.

Heather is a sight-impaired spoonie and working-class writer from Yorkshire. Her work has been published by: Reflex Press, Pure Slush, New Feathers, Mono, Anansi Archives and others. She was nominated for best of the net in 2022.

LAURA BESLEY: Silent Cries Echo

Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

On the eve of each full moon, the Elders meet.

“Betty and Jim,” the Chief says, her long earrings jangling, “are struggling. She’s too pale. He’s drinking too much. Someone needs to take them under their wing.”

I remember the pain of an empty cradle. “I’ll do it,” I say.

Laura Besley writes short fiction and squeezes her writing into the bookends of her day. She has lived in Holland, Germany, and Hong Kong, but now lives in land-locked central England and misses the sea. Her flash fiction collection, The Almost Mothers, was published in March 2020. She tweets at @laurabesley.

STEPHEN GOODLAD: Clean Break

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

You stood small, despite borrowed heels, all grown up in a too-long evening gown that showed off your delicate collarbone. When you tripped and fell, it broke cleanly, requiring two pins to repair.

I kissed the line of stitches as you lay in bed, and you only cried out once.

Stephen is a retired Social Worker using writing as an antidote to lockdown.

ROBIN BISSETT: Second Chance

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

This morning, the winter rain hammers away external stains.

Yesterday, after the incident, my friends walked me home, and we built a pillow fort. They currently lay beside me, asleep and dreaming. I snuggle under the covers, warm in their company, and wait for the delivery of a new day.

Robin Bissett is a Teaching Artist and Writer from Central Texas. She enjoys absorbing and sharing stories and strengthening her surrounding literary communities.

TIM BOITEAU: Morning After

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

I step in something cold, slimy on the kitchen tile.

Gelatin-encased golden suns. Crushed shells.

Gwen is slumped in the corner, rage melted.

I grease up a pan, ignite the burner, scoop up the ruined eggs with a spatula, and toss them into the spitting oil.

Then help her stand.

Tim Boiteau writes and lives near Detroit with his wife and son.

ELIF BAYSAK: The Power of Layers

Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

Tracing my fingers on my wrists felt wrong, the deliberate bareness.

“Vulnerability shouldn’t be visible,” said my mother, tossing me a cover-up sweater before school. She believed in the power of layers.

If she only looked closer there wouldn’t be these deeper cuts; there wouldn’t be any more wandering eyes.

Elif Baysak was born and raised in Izmir, Turkey. She moved to NYC to pursue her Bachelor’s degree and passion in the arts. Her engagements in the arts include theatre-making and playwriting, and she recently progressed into writing fiction. Her take on an honest piece is to work with impulses and feelings regarding human experiences. She focuses on the value of psychology in the arts, regarding subconscious and identity struggles, what it means to be human in our own bodies. Her artistic voice is a product of past or present, personal or universal events. Her passion for travelling allows her to experience the world in various ways and make observations, which provides her with the creative urge to write.