Category Archives: Touching

JO WITHERS: Definitions: B

Submissions, Touching, , , , , ,

Bobbing – I think of apples. Ups and downs.

Behaviour – Mine, yours – neither commendable.

Bitter – Adjective. I am ___. You made me ___.

Brazen – Wasn’t she?

Bayonet – Wounding instrument. Cold steel engulfing flesh.

Baby – Would you have left if it had happened? (See Barren)

Boomerang – I won’t go back.

Bruised – Imperfect, fragile, healing.

Jo Withers writes short fiction from her home in South Australia. Recent work appears in Ellipsis Zine, Milk Candy Review and Reflex Fiction. Jo’s work was also recently chosen for inclusion in Best Microfiction 2020.

ALYCE CLARK: Two Hearts

Submissions, Touching, , , ,

Your heart gave out. Still can’t fully explain it, but my heart stopped working, too. Yours no longer beats; mine can love no other. One of us breathing; one of us not… And yet somehow, the results are the same: two hearts died that day. I remain single, yet taken.

Alyce Clark was so awed and inspired by the stories of others, she decided to write them for herself.

HANNAH WHITEOAK: Not Ready

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

The unicorn is in the garden again, munching on the roses.

“I can’t,” I say. “I’m not ready.”

I follow him down the lane to the edge of the enchanted forest. The pine scent clears my lungs.

The unicorn slips between the trees. One day, soon, I’ll go with him.

Hannah Whiteoak writes speculative fiction to escape the real world. She is working on an animal-themed flash collection. Follow @HannahWhiteoak or visit hannahwhiteoak.me.

Editor: This story is a sequel to Side Effects.

JILL OLSON: Pandemic

Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

I thought he needed my touch.

He looked empty.

My hand’s warmth could provide him respite.

But that wasn’t allowed.

I could offer only a smile and wave from across the room.

He nodded, resignation wrapped with tedium.

Latex gloves announced despair, their blue color an exclamation on our lives.

Jill has been writing since childhood. She believes well-turned phrases can connect emotions and people. She’s published academic work, but her main passion is fiction.

CARRIE BACKER: Psalm 30:5

Poetry, Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

Darkness engulfs me.
Bitterness and loneliness play freeze tag
Throughout a sleepless night.
At dawn, the pitter-patter of little feet.
Her tiny arms envelop me.
Warmth flows from her pressed cheek to mine.

“Good morning, Mommy.”

Her words linger like a melody,
As sunrise ignites hope for the new day.

Carrie Backer enjoys writing in her very little spare time. She has self-published a couple of kids books and hopes to write more soon.

JULIA JORGENSEN: Peel

Submissions, Touching, , , , , ,

Grandpa picks her up from ballet, lets her sit in the front seat. He has brought three tangerines wrapped in a paper towel (two for her). They eat them in the car. Later, she will forget to remove the peels from the cupholder; even now, his car smells like tangerines.

Julia Jorgensen is a junior at Stanford University studying Symbolic Systems and Creative Writing. She loves short stories, theater, and tangerines; she has definitely eaten at least eight in one sitting before.

LAURA BESLEY: A Tale of Two Hearts

Submissions, Touching, , , ,

I could be dead.

I would be dead if I’d been born 50 years ago. God knows, I’ve thought about it. There’s been no point living this half-life.

Instead, today I wake to the loud rhythmic banging of my new heart (my new heart!).

And my life can finally begin.

Laura Besley writes short fiction in the precious moments that her children are asleep. She has been widely published online, in print, and in anthologies. Her debut flash fiction collection, The Almost Mothers, is out in March 2020.

LISA CHAMBERS: Letting Go

Submissions, Touching, , ,

He admired her longingly from across the room. Just the two of them. Summoning his nerve, heart pounding, he approached.

His beloved wife… Hair freshly styled, makeup applied just so, hands neatly folded. Those blue eyes that once saw only him, now surveying Heaven’s expanse.

“You’re home, Angel. Rest well.”

Lisa Chambers is a Texas girl who enjoys writing.

KIMBERLY PARISH DAVIS: The Contract Fulfilled

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

Puddles and poo everywhere.

Mom had no business getting a puppy. Now she’s gone, and the vet says her tiny guardian’s kidneys are packing up.

Princess is only three years old. Did she have some heavenly contract to fulfill? Is she released from responsibility, to fade back into the ether?

Kimberly Parish Davis directs Madville Publishing, and across genres. Her work can be found in various literary journals, both online and off, including The Helix, Flare: The Flagler Review, époque press, Jerry Jazz Musician, and Flar. See more at kpdavis.com.

DAVID LOWIS: Lasting Impression

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , , ,

In the years after Luke left, Daisy’s recollections of their relationship fragmented. Like dandelion seeds caught in the breeze, superfluous memories were whisked away, leaving her just a lone stem to examine. His essence. Had he been the person she thought she knew?

She wondered how she’d been so blind.

David Lowis is a fledgling writer from Surrey, England.