LAKSHMAN VUDANRAO: Clean Enough

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

He began clear—hopeful, technical, sincere.
The stream once ran clean and bright.
Small pipes tapped in.
Big ones polished reports.
“Treat just enough. Speak louder.”
Audits passed.
Dead zones slowly grew.
He watched waste join the sea.
It shimmered—blue, vast, beautiful.
No one questioned it.
It looked clean enough…

Lakshman Vudanrao is the founder of a company offering innovation support services. He writes across themes of science, society, and human experience, drawing from real-world insights and personal reflections on education, relationships, and change.

ASHNI PATEL: Pressurized

Adventure, Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

We struggled with transplanted lives. Chefs served identical protein packs; musicians played the colony’s sole venue. Yet Mrs. Tamlyn’s etiquette school thrived. She taught us grace in pressurized suits, dignity while rationing recycled water, low-gravity choreography. She had unknowingly domesticated humanity’s last hope of escape. Civility became our cruelest addiction.

Ashni wrote this story after watching the news—Earth’s most dystopian fiction. You can find her tinkering at ashnipatel.com.

GABE BONNEY: Gen Real

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

It’s a sight to behold, that slick of teenagers commuting home from the beach. All salt-encrusted eyelashes and lobstery shoulders, screeching like a murder of crows.

Time travelling. My youth—I can almost reach out and touch it.

The train window reflects my denuded reality… but I’m still 1985 inside!

Gabe has been writing and editing for 30 years, from her home base in Sydney, Australia. She doesn’t plan on being replaced by AI any time soon.

LAUREN DENNIS: Social Circle

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

“You need to make friends,” my coworker says while vigorously pressing the elevator floor button. She never turns to see my melancholic expression.

I try explaining the enclosing weighted blanket feeling of loneliness…

She huffs, holds her hand up, cutting my words, and says,

“You just need to make friends.”

Lauren Dennis is a Sailor who lives her life like a pirate, writing spirit-fueled flash across the globe. You can follow this Charleston, South Carolina native, all her travels, and creative exploration on Instagram at @laurenwritesloud.

KATELYN JANE PONTZER: Pondering Pines

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

The copse of corpses is haunted by centuried ghosts and the ashen remnants of their skeletons. As I travel, they whisper to me in urgent gasps.

To be is to… To be is to…

I allow the whippoorwill’s song to drown out their voices, yet still I walk, pondering pines.

Katelyn Jane Pontzer is an aspiring writer from Georgia. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy.

TARA L KELLEY: Heirloom Variety

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Dad’s out of town, so I’m tending the nursery—misting the little buds, tousling their leaves. I put some Mozart on, then Gordon Lightfoot, so Dad’s guitar-playing will feel familiar. On day four, he wants an update. No one’s flourishing yet, I tell him, but we’re all doing just fine.

Tara L. Kelley is just here to write.

WILLIAM J JOEL: Skin Deep

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“Become an Intergalactic Ambassador,” the sign had read. If she’d only knew then what she knew now.

“Fake it till you make it,” she was told by her superiors. But it wasn’t quite so easy once they’d added four legs and two arms and removed your ears for your assignment.

All things are connected. That’s the premise of what William J. Joel does. Each of Mr. Joel’s interests informs each other. Mr. Joel has been teaching computer science since 1983 and has been a writer even longer. His works have recently appeared in Common Ground Review, DASH Literary Journal, The Blend International, Liminality, and North Dakota Quarterly.

MIRIAM N KOTZIN: The Big One-Way

Adventure, Artistic, Submissions, , , , , ,

On my last visit, Granny fretted. Were the aliens treating Grandpa right? Until now she’d opined that if aliens could do space travel, they shootin’-sure could do the wash and fix a proper dinner. A blessing Grandpa wasn’t fussy about his meals or collars. Her faith in Him remained unshakable.

Miriam N. Kotzin writes fiction and poetry. She is the author of five collections of poetry, two collections of short fiction, and two novels—most recently the novel Right This Way (Spuyten Duyvil). Her 50-word stories have been published in 50-Word Stories, 50 Give or Take, and Blink Ink. She teaches literature and creative writing at Drexel University.

PAUL D’ARCY: Inheritance

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

The kerchief was stiff with salt, sweat, and machine oil. She pressed it to her face.
It was him, alright. Not much of a dad. Always working, drinking, fighting, womanizing. Never home.
He couldn’t make her bedtime, but could always make her laugh.
She breathed him in one last time.

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

GRAHAM FORTIER: My Ex-Wife No Longer Calls Me

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

She used to call every month. When we last speak, she asks if I think about her. Every day, I say. But she doesn’t believe me. She hangs up in a fury, and I stare into the last piece of artwork our daughter ever made, still taped to the refrigerator.

Graham Fortier lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children. He is a survivor of the Altadena wildfire.