MIKAILA NALBANTOVA: Cradle

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , ,

She couldn’t be angry with the brownies; they hadn’t known. This was simply what they did: tidying, mending, completing the tiny cap meant for a babe born in winter. They must’ve knitted by firelight, the hearth smoldering through the night, fueled by wood scraps from the forever empty cradle.

Mikaila Nalbantova is a speculative fiction writer with a focus on the epic, the folkloric, and the Classical. Her work has appeared on Apex Book Company and in Club Plum, Tension Literary, and others. You can find more of her work through linktr.ee/mikaila.nalbantova.

JEFFREY REEVES: Missing

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

He kept dreaming about his leg. A shark in the surf; a sniper in Fallujah; drag racing in the desert. Always something different.

The room was private, but it was hard to sleep; hospitals are filled with ambient noise.

He hoped the oncologist would have good news in the morning.

Jeffrey Reeves is a former communications director living in Tennessee. He loves good books, good dogs, and good beer.

TERRI YANNETTI: Drama in the Sky

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

In dark of night, when the village is quilted in sleep, constellations spin tales as they move overhead. Two hounds, taut bodies quivering, are keen to hunt; while fleeing sisters clutch hands or tug arms, frantic to escape impending harm. Slumbering folk are in another realm. Completely unaware.

Terri Yannetti is a Connecticut-based newspaper writer. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Star*Line, Asimov’s Science Fiction, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and 3rd Wednesday.

ASHLEY HOLLOWAY: A Lot to Chew On

Amusing, Submissions, , ,

It started with a nibble at the corner of the page. Testing the shape of each letter on her tongue, the nibble grew to a bite. First a New Yorker, then Tolstoy, and before she knew it, she’d devoured Britannica’s 32. One could say she’d developed an appetite for discovery.

Ashley Holloway writes from her kitchen in Calgary, AB.

MARIA CARGILL: detail-hungry

Artistic, Poetry, Submissions, , , ,

I lie here in the white, staring at the ceiling
trying not to read too far into the lyrics of your music,
not to project my grief onto yours–

this is the curse of the detail-hungry mind,
that choosing a radio station
feels like another means of baring one’s soul.

Maria Cargille wrote this story.

PAUL D’ARCY: Visitation

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, Touching, , , , , ,

He takes a personal day. Third Wednesday of every month.

Drives three hours each way. Gets forty minutes in a booth.

The man across from him has his hands, his eyes, his sense of humor.

Has fifteen years left on his sentence.

Has never explained why he did it.

Still.

Paul D’Arcy tells stories. All real. Most brief. You can read more at pauldrc.com.

BOB THURBER: Babysitting Grandpa While Mommy Naps

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , , , , ,

When he woke, she asked about the cast and he said, “The moon fell on my foot.”

“No fooling,” she said.

He said he’d been reaching for the longest time.

“One day I touched it. I held it in my hand. But then I dropped it.”

“Silly grandpa,” she said.

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.

YANG ZEFAN: The Cost

Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

My daughter’s teacher called me. “She drew everyone in the class. Except herself.”

Over dinner, I asked her why.

“Teacher told us to draw the future,” she said softly. “I heard you and mama last night.” She pushed the dumplings slowly across her plate. “How much do I cost, Baba?”

Yang Zefan lives in China. This is Yang’s first attempt at microfiction in English.

ED WALKER: Prickly

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

The window is giving me nice morning sunlight. I’m trying to enjoy some solitude and tranquility, while you bustle about, oblivious. The chilled room was quite awful enough, but the water and warmer nights will not force me into anything. I will bloom when the mood strikes, and not before.

After decades of nattering on about moving abroad, Ed Walker finally retired and bought a house in Catalunya, Spain. His work can be found in 50-Word Stories, The Arcanist, Blink-Ink and elsewhere.