When I was sired, I knew I’d become a pariah. Figured drinking blood did that.
Over time, they hated my beef habit more. Abhorred my accumulated air miles. They joked I’d die with a steak in my heart.
These days everyone avoids the sun, and no one invites me in.
Joe Pearson is a British fiction writer living in Paris. As far as he knows, he is not immortal. You can find more of his writing at joepearsonwriter.com.
Before summer got too hot we fooled around on playgrounds. We swung blistered palms on monkey bars, got dizzy on tire swings.
Before winter got less cold we played in the snow. We ate icicles off our parents’ cars, sipped cocoa with tiny marshmallows.
The world was still hospitable; home.
Audrey Lee is a student from New Jersey. She enjoys writing flash fiction and poetry.
Summer rain fell hard and fast on the steel body of his car, causing an unbelievable racket. Warm nights and fireflies flashed through his mind; memories of childhood.
“The Flood isn’t what I thought climate change would look like,” he blustered out loud to no one as he drove on.
Lasara Firefox Allen (they/them) is the author of Jailbreaking the Goddess and Sexy Witch. They are published in many genres, online and in print. Subscribe to their Substack at: www.substack.com/lasarafirefoxallen. Learn more at www.linktr.ee/lasarafirefoxallen.
A year ago, the last ice shelf cracked away from the Antarctic mainland. Online, they pre-eulogized the tidal rhythms, the season cycles, the ocean ecosystem. They set up a countdown.
This week, the iceberg melted. My daughter cried. Why did we try to douse the fire using only our tears?
Arianna Smith lives in California. Her work has appeared in OFIC Mag.
The message had been broadcast many rings ago. Beginning in the sapwood, plunging beneath the soil, through the gnarled, twisting ropes of roots, into the branching network of filamentous fungi. The tree whose name means heart and bread is searching. Finally, a reply. “Sorry. You are the last of your kind.”
Anoushka Yeoh is a writer from London and a mother of two. She studied Biomedical Sciences, made an ill-advised segue into the Law and now writes about motherhood, neurodiversity and deafness. She is currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck, University of London.
Uprooted this odd plant, we did. Brought it back to the lab.
It was novel, real wild. Thought it was a newly discovered species.
Never seen anything like it, we said.
We’ve been searching for another after ours died so quick, looking real hard.
Gone from the wild, it was.
Nick Bucciarelli is an undergraduate student studying chemistry at Northwestern University.
When I returned with my tools, I noticed the posting: “Caution. Any attempt by the user to modify or tamper with this world is a breach of the Terms and Conditions. Improper alterations can cause catastrophic destruction. Violators will pay deeply and forever; repeat offenders will be shown no mercy.”
Stephen Tilden tinkers responsibly in Brooklyn.
Editor: Stephen wrote this story as a follow-up to New Stars.
They were great guests. They showed me how they lived peacefully and in harmony with their beautiful nature.
Before leaving their planet, I asked, “How come you have never visited Earth?”
They replied, “If you knew that a toilet was occupied, would you visit it?” Not the answer I expected.
Andreas Litas lives in southern Europe and writes poetry and flash fiction.
Perhaps the flowers wither and the stars fall, and tides rise as fauna die. But no longer will we feel the clashing whims of our hearts, the timeless troubles thundering our souls.
Perhaps when we reach the heavens, half burnt, flames dancing across the sky, our worlds will lie still.
Emma Peng is a recent high school graduate who enjoys exploring new worlds through writing fantastical stories and her wildlife blog.
I found it as a kid–a pine grove in the woods with a gap just big enough to squeeze through; the place where red and orange feathers floated down every Spring like fuzzy rain. There, dozens congregated and gossiped.
It was my secret once.
Now it’s a parking lot.
EO’s not really a tree-hugging hippy, but is nonetheless annoyed when small towns get over-developed. After all, who really needs THREE grocery stores in one location?