RICHARD R DiPIRRO: The Last Casualty

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

At dawn, Private Antonio Felipe became the unluckiest man in the world.

Peace was declared ten minutes prior, but no one told the bullet that killed him. The sound of victory traveled triumphantly through the hole in Antonio’s head. The bullet was sorry, but it was only doing its job.

Richard R. DiPirro is the author of the psychological sci-fi novel, Eaten by Wolves. His short fiction has appeared in various magazines and anthologies, including Metonym, Tales of the Strange, Carpe Noctem by Tyche Books, and The Lindenwood Review. He is currently seeking representation for his second novel, Black Linen and Biscuits.

MARJIE ALONSO: The Recall

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

She stands at the shoreline, looks out at the bay, then back at me.

“Alice, come!” It’s the second time I’ve called. She turns, slowly, like an ocean liner coming about. Her head dips to sniff, and then she approaches. Slowly.

The letter, but not the spirit, of the law.

Marjie Alonso lives in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where she can be found walking and pleading with her beagle to drop that. Her work has appeared in Brevity, The Huffington Post, Cognoscenti, and elsewhere. Her substack can be found at piecesofstring.substack.com.

STEVEN LEMPRIÈRE: Flatlining

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I’d turned over a new leaf, but then Fern took root on an adjacent barstool.

“A whisky sour,” she purred, fronds unfurling in my direction.

I sensed trouble, with a capital T, and straightaway knew she’d unplug a life-support machine to charge her phone, but hey, what a last breath.

Steven is a man of few words.

MONICA CALLAN: Double Fault

Amusing, Submissions, , ,

God had not turned up for the men’s final at Wimbledon and three front row seats sat empty.

Jesus wandered around asking, ‘Has anyone seen my dad?’

It was only when he reverted to ‘Have you found God yet?’, that he was manhandled by security and escorted from the tournament.

Monica Callan is a housewife from Donegal, Ireland who started writing during the covid pandemic.

PAUL D’ARCY: The Cache We Carry

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, , , , ,

Her name. Home town. LinkedIn. Facebook. The Team page on her company’s website. The obituary I found, then closed, then reopened three times.

Nuked it all.

Fifty-six years old. Healthy. Pillar of the community. Loved by all. Survived by no one. Abandoned by the only man she ever loved.

Me.

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

TOM MAHER: Life Unlived

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Ate well; never drank. Walked; never ran. Looked both ways crossing the street, but otherwise kept his head down. Never loved. And the idea of kids was far too big. Lived to ninety-five, settled down into a hole in the ground, and nobody knew what to write on the headstone.

Tom Maher is a writer from London who was shortlisted for the 2025 Bridport Prize.

KATHERINE ROSE BRAUN: Sunday Special

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Making breakfast was our moniker for baby-making sex. Sausage and eggs, please! we’d laugh.

Now we’re sitting in a sticky booth with our baby.

“What’s your order, dear?”

“Coffee,” you say.

The waitress turns to me.

“Sausage and eggs!” I beam.

But you say nothing. Your tired eyes look away.

Katherine is a stay-at-home mother living in New England with her husband and three toddlers. Writing is helping her stay sane. She has a BA in Psychology from Wellesley College and an MA in Criminal Justice from Boston University. She is a participant in the Westport Writers’ Workshop in Westport, CT.

JS O’KEEFE: Q&A

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Fred always asks dozens of inane questions, but whenever one of us tries to answer, he interrupts or walks away.

“Fred’s an educated man,” Kennedy, the county judge, explains. “But he’s a poet, not a scientist or accountant. Only questions fascinate him. He believes that answers are abhorrent, even destructive.”

J.S. O’Keefe is a trilingual translator and writer. He has published over 500 short stories, creative essays and poems in print and online literary journals.

ZOE M: Love, lately

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

Love is the toddler dancing in the theatre while the end credits roll. Love is you buying ink in my favourite colour, purple. Love is the countless terrible nicknames you give me, each syllable pronounced with careful affection. Love is holding your scarred hand, and knowing when to let go.

Zoe M is a passionate cinephile and bibliophile. She spends most of her time reading, writing, or thinking about films