WILLIAM MITCHELL: Breakout

Adventure, Artistic, Submissions, , ,

The psych ward is ten paces long.

The washroom beyond? Just five.

So what’s behind the rest?

I’ve mapped this whole place – voids everywhere. And they all link up.

Is every building like this? Whole cities, parallel worlds, meshed with ours?

“Harmless obsession,” my caseworker reckons.

Tomorrow I’m breaking through.

William Mitchell lives in East Sussex in the South of England. He is an award-winning author, having had early success with various Horror and Science Fiction publications before winning the Writers of the Future contest in 2012. His first novel, CREATIONS, came out in 2014 with John Hunt Publishing.

LISA K BUCHANAN: The Great Disappearing Act

Artistic, Submissions, , , , , ,

Back in 1947, BioMother relinquished her baby for adoption under a pseudonym. BioFather was “Unknown.” Masters of misdirection, they’d multiplied and vanished. Baby searched for decades, a woman sawed in half.

Pencil-bending bureaucrats. Palmed-dollar private detectives. A DNA card-shuffle. With a wave of the wand, the magicians remained forever invisible.

Writings by Lisa K. Buchanan (www.lisakbuchanan.com) appear in CRAFT, The Citron Review, and elsewhere. Foes: fellow bus passengers with shoulder bags near her nose. Friends: anyone not preceding her in the bakery line for a lemon bar. Heroes: public librarians. Current favorite banned book: Bus 57 (Dashka Slater).

SHERRY: At Gatwick

Submissions, Touching, , , ,

My girlfriend lives in silence
And she speaks in signs.

Her phone vibrates a text.
“Flight LX327 to Zurich now boarding.”

We kiss. Sigh. Hold hands,
let go. Kiss once more.

She picks up her bag, turns to sign
“Good-bye. I love you.”

Her hands leave fingerprints in the air.

Sherry writes poetry as an excuse to hang out with the poets of County Waterford, Ireland.

JIMMY MACK: The First Nip

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

There’s that distinctive sound freshly frosted fern fronds make when stepped upon. It’s different than the snap of exhausted twigs, or a bed of pine needles gathered for their winter sleep over.

It’s the sound of saltine crackers being crumbled into that first fall minestrone simmering on the wood stove.

Jimmy is a writer from Portland, Oregon. Having worked in the horticultural side of life for over 30 years, he is now working on a book about his backpacking adventures around South Asia in the early 1990’s.

CHRISTA LYON-MOON: Pre-Approved

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Pushing her daughter on the swing always made her world seem much brighter.  She was sent home early today.  Her hours were cut again.  Where would their next meal come from?  A second job was out of the question.

One envelope stood out among the bills in the mailbox.

“Pre-approved.”

Christa Lyon-Moon spends her free time crafting flash fiction that finds meaning in small moments where imagination meets real life.

DAN HEMMERLIN: With Love

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Dear Forest,

Take me, this day. Be it thorn or splinter, poison leaf or needle, or by way that does not make a sound.

May we dance with broken limbs, bleed with rotting hearts, and burn with contagious crowns of fire.

Let’s be the wind upon our last falling bough.

 

STEPHANIE LYE: The Corner Seat by the Pond

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

“Two coffees with real milk!” he shouts at the waiter, sliding the coins across the counter. He shuffles to the corner seat, her favourite one with the view of the pond. “Almond milk,” he scoffs, “what nonsense.” He reads the newspaper front to back. Watches the ducks. Drinks both coffees.

Stephanie is a writer from Perth, Western Australia, who likes to write about love, loss and relationships in the hopes it might help her understand them a little better.

TOYA L WALKER: Boston

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

I planted a garden on land that rejected me. By summer, it fought back—roots breaking pipes, sunflowers tracking secrets, tomatoes whispering names I’d buried. When I tried to leave, the soil tightened around my ankles. “Stay,” it said. So I did—and grew wild enough to belong.

Toya L. Walker is an educator, gardener, and founder of Organically Grown Queen, where she combines gardening, storytelling, and creative expression to help people reconnect with nature and their own cultural roots. She has presented at conferences including Herbstalk and NOFA, and her work focuses on native plants, urban gardening, and using sensory observation to inspire writing and art. Through her workshops, Toya shows how even the smallest garden space can become a place for imagination, learning, and community connection.

ARTHUR MATHEUS: Vision of a Dream

Artistic, Submissions, ,

A blind child once shared his golden dream: “I’ll be a doctor.” Surgery waited ten days away. Darkness was his only world then. Ten years passed. Now, I watch him move with grace, speaking to patients, healing their pain. He saw the light, then became the light. Dreams come true.

Arthur is a 14-year-old Brazilian student with a passion for staying active. A true sports enthusiast, he balances his athletic pursuits with his journey as an English learner, bringing the same energy to the classroom as he does to the field.