Fiction
Contributors
Joe Baumann, Shayna Cristy-Mendez, Megan Harris, Lindsay Fiore, Devon E. Hayes, Carella Keil, Matthew Landers, Brooke MacDonald, and Madeline Stratford
The Ghoul
by Devon E. Hayes
“Ash and ember, the crumbling pieces of his forest falling all around him. Stumps burnt black and molehills rendered flat. Bodies strewn across the field, men and beast and women and children. He counted them out individually.”
Language Barrier
by Joe Baumann
“ Esme does not share much of herself with him anymore, nothing beyond the day-to-day stuff: work (boring), rugby practice (sweaty, boring), going to trivia nights at bars two nights a week (Tuesdays: fun; Saturdays: sweaty, boring). The deeper stuff, though, Dallas is no longer privy to.”
God Forbid
by Megan Harris
“Across town, a ruined boy and his ruined mother awaited trial. A few miles away, the parents of the murdered girl lay sleepless, reaching for comfort. Please, please, please.”
Alone
by Lindsay Fiore
“Couples screamed through paper-thin walls, then walked outside smiling. But her, she stayed the same.”
Drinking Age
by Madeline Stratford
“She stared at me. Trees standing tall behind her. ‘ see bright colors, Matty. They live in trees.’”
Pluto Is Not a Planet (Again)
Micro-fiction by Carella Keil
“Aliens bathe in stars, and poor children in dirty bath water. Dragons coil within fragile shells, dreaming of biting down the moon and playing catch with your sun.”
The Palm Frond Nightie
by Shayna Cristy-Mendez
“Don tells me the discomfort is natural — And when all his empty platitudes dissolve into little snores, like bees buzzing in my ears, I still think about taking a knife to the discomfort and slicing it out of me.”
In His Final Hours
by Matthew Landers
“His passing needed to be peaceful and now she hoped her visit would include that measure of peace. The cost was the only question.”
Q: Could Pavlov Classically Condition My Husband to Not Be a Dick?
by Brooke MacDonald
““I don’t think the universe cares about your work laptop, sweetie.” My glass was nearly empty, and I thought of what my father used to say to my mother whenever she scarfed something down at the dinner table or chugged a drink too quickly: you must have needed it.”