OZZIE NOGG: Could You Please Direct Me to the Self-Help Section?
Our jilted heroine, her energy field depleted, her chakra channels out of whack, still believed in the bread of intimacy and the dance of oneness. And so, clinging to detachment, our heroine took the...
View ArticleALEXANDRA KEISTER: Settle-Mate
“How did you meet Gramma?” she asked, eyes sparkling at the impending story of romance. “I saw the most gorgeous blonde I’d ever seen, next to an okay brunette, and I said to myself, ‘I’m gonna marry...
View ArticleCHRISTOPHER GANNON: Forever Falling
I tripped over something and fell a long way, didn’t expect this to happen today. Wrapped in darkness Like a coat. Felt my belly hit my throat. Looked for the ground that should have been found, but I...
View ArticleGARY POWER: Fireside Felony
Samantha lay naked on the hearth, luxuriating before the open fire. Pulling the chain tightly between clenched fists, and with sinister grin, the man nudged the door open. Blissfully unaware, Sam...
View ArticleANA BL VEIRA: In the Air
She arrived at the airport. Two hours later, she would be flying. Gate 25. Panic. Inside the plane. Cold sweat. Small bag in the overhead compartment. Fast heartbeat. A woman approached her. “Sarah,...
View ArticleROBERT HOEKMAN JR: Airport Romance
He saw her across the gate, three rows over, reading a paperback with eyes wide, ponytail in place, and imagined her next to him, picking at the leftovers of a fight from last week, always hauling up...
View ArticleOL HUMPHREYS: Paperwork
Having appropriated a sturdy broom from a dockside warehouse, the constable now clung to the edge of the jetty, desperately jabbing downwards. Damned if he was going to let paperwork ruin his evening....
View ArticleJOHN H DROMEY: Catching an Old School Crook
“Any progress on the kidnapping case?” the captain asked. “No, sir. We can’t proceed until we have a consultation with Detective Eunice Murphy.” “Why do you need her help? She’s been retired for...
View ArticleJENORA VASWANI: Head Over Heels
She stared, blank; he gazed lovingly back. Perhaps it was true her skin hung a little loosely upon her bones. Perhaps it was true her hair was just a little sparse. Yet his mother’s disapproval meant...
View ArticleVIV BURGESS: Four Horsewomen of the Apocalypse
Hey, Famine? Death here. Got your diary? What about the 17th? No, it’s weight watchers on Tuesdays. Next Friday? Darn! Forgot Plague is off sick until next month. What about War? Her diary’s always...
View ArticleDERMOTT HAYES: Dramatic
Nothing small happens in her life. It has always been so, since as long as she can remember. She checks her makeup, wondering: too much, too little? Lipstick, she decides, and chooses a scarlet shade,...
View ArticleJOHN H DROMEY: Telling It Like it Is
“My remarks will be brief today,” an absentminded professor told his class. “I’m suffering from short-turn memory loss.” “Don’t you mean short-term?” a student asked. The prof shook his head. “I had...
View ArticleHARRY DEMAREST: Immortality
I am Tutankhamen, Pharaoh and immortal. When I left the mortal world, priests provided me with a chariot, jewels, everything needed for the afterlife. They embalmed me, performed incantations, and...
View ArticleEMILIANO COSENZA: Never Again
Here we are in the middle of the tribune. The music sucks and the noisy fans bother us. Chayanne’s dancing; we can actually see his sweat. What are we doing here? Oh yes, the tickets were free and...
View ArticleFILLIP VERDUN: Here Comes the Bride
“We are the best couple-matching agency in the entire country, Mr. Jones.” “I have heard of your sterling reputation.” “Ninety percent of the couples that we match marry.” “That’s really impressive.”...
View ArticleCLAUDIA RAMALHO: A Holiday Romance
She couldn’t help thinking about the delicious taste in her mouth, the soft touch on her lips, the unparalleled, penetrating smell that consumed her senses and overshadowed her reason. She’d never be...
View ArticleJOHN TROTT: Mania
World leaders summoned the aging hacker to thwart a new form of terrorism. A subverted Pokémon GO was luring millions to their deaths. Hacker had inserted an avaricious agent designed to destroy them...
View ArticleDAVID S ATKINSON: The Fox-Trot Is Not One of the Twelve Steps
Hi, I’m Jim and I’m here because of the damn judge. See… I sleep naked and don’t dress until after breakfast and coffee. So I took the coffee pot and griddle out of their boxes, new as they were, and...
View ArticleSEAN DALY: Judgment Day
“You must be God… And this is…” “Judgment Day.” “Where you review my entire life and see if I’m worthy?” “Just the last day. Your whole life takes too long and there’s a line behind you.” “It...
View ArticleJOHN H. DROMEY: Sinister Move
“Where’s Private Landowsky?” “He’s on sick call with a concussion.” “What happened to him?” “The drill sergeant gave him a rock to hold so he wouldn’t forget which is his left hand.” “And…?” “An...
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