MICHELLE WILSON: Algorithm
Lately, the internet’s always ten steps ahead, knowing before I do what I need to see: today’s impossibly high cost of living, eight easy side hustles, renting your spare bedroom, difficult housemates,...
View ArticleANDREA DAMIC: Missing
Another one is missing. They have looked everywhere but to no avail. Last month was easier. It was found next to the unicorn slippers. The month before that, she stepped on it. Despite all our gained...
View ArticleSANTOSH KALWAR: The Singer
Laxmi takes a deep breath and pulls back the velvet curtains. She closes her eyes and sings; her powerful voice rings loud and clear, echoing in the hall. Then, to thunderous applause, she bows....
View ArticleAMY: Manor House Manners
His eyes devoured the exquisite king suite of their romantic manor house getaway. A four-poster bed, Victorian ornaments, a grand window framing acres of secluded woodland. Perfection. Everything,...
View ArticleRON LAVALETTE: Backyard Olympics Failure
It wasn’t until the final, near-miss horseshoe toss was disputed that things escalated into open warfare. Heavy metal shrapnel flew in almost every direction, none of it intended for its usual targets,...
View ArticleAJ JOSEPH: Luck of the Irish
He had no choice. His debts were piling up. His landlord had increased rent; grocery prices were astronomical. He stepped outside, albeit reluctantly, summoned his rainbow, and dug where it ended. He...
View ArticleBRIANNE ROBERTSON: Across the Courtyard
I eat my lunch with a man I shared a glance with across the courtyard: the first interaction I’ve had in a long time. I name our kids, Julian and Ava. I want an outdoor wedding. No. Indoor. Both? I...
View ArticleJOEY TO: Phone Zombies
Everyone stared at their phones. Jack dodged someone but bumped into another. He hated phones but— Coughing and retching caught his ear. Jack turned to see someone convulsing, phone stuck to his face....
View ArticleDAVE MYERS: Syzygy
Ever since the bump to six-letter words, Kate’s average greatly increased. Yesterday’s took an unprecedented-for-her six guesses to solve. Phew. Presently, her doorbell rang. Two agents introduced...
View ArticleBOB THURBER: The Secret Revealed
For the longest time she didn’t know what it was, but it was very simply the writing. The style, the cadence, the rhythms, the pace. The psychological connection with the reader. One day she met the...
View ArticleLINDA FREEDLAND: Duct-taped in Florida (or When it’s Time to Head Home)
Roof leaks fried our chandelier, killing our fan. Rains flooded our lanai. Ghost ants, millipedes, and palmetto bugs began invading our Florida space. The spouse duct-taped and I sprayed and prayed....
View ArticleMICHELLE WILSON: Lost and Found
A pair of eyeballs discovered in the Florida Everglades were returned to a Suffolk County man who’d lost them some five months prior in a near-fatal robbery. The stolen eyeballs contained images of his...
View ArticleMARIGOLD PACKWOOD: Caught
The silence shuffles. His heart leaps to his throat. He dares not turn, lest the package rustle, but he twists his eyeballs till they hurt and there stands Big Sister. Heart slides back to his toes,...
View ArticleBRIAN MAYCOCK: A Walk in the Park
I was sure squirrels were scared of people. Until one Grey stood in front of me and put its paw on my shin. I had nothing to give it, not even a crumb. The squirrel stood its ground and in the end I...
View ArticleGENE NEWMAN: Italian Sausage Recipes
FRYING PAN RECIPE Preheat frying pan Add 1 tbsp of olive oil Add sausages Brown 3 minutes on each side Add half cup of water, cover Cook 6 minutes Check for correct internal temp. of 160F BARBECUE...
View ArticleSTEPHEN TILDEN: Trading Places
We were having breakfast together—I at my table and he at the feeder outside of the window. For a long moment we gazed enviously at each other. I said, “Would that I could fly in the air,” to which he...
View ArticleSARAH LEAVESLEY: Harry’s Latest Short Let
Yet again, his new home wasn’t as advertised: the “light coastal breeze” setting was more like prone to gale-force storms, his neighbours noisier than ideal for his hermit lifestyle. Meanwhile, the...
View ArticleROSIE DOUGLAS: Kidnapped by Words
The story was so immersive she sat on the floor of the mobile library to read. Unaware, it drove to the next location. By the time it returned to her street the following week she had finished the...
View ArticleBILL COX: In the Back of a Taxi One Day
She gets into his taxi, heavily pregnant. “Hospital, please. My waters have just broken.” He drives. “You look familiar,” he says, “Have we met?” She takes a moment to really look at him. “Yes, we went...
View ArticleKAREN BEATTY: Dilemma
I’m alone in a parked car when a huge serpent with a cobra-like head hovers above my open side window. Staring at its green, vacant, and unblinking eyes, I wonder whether I should just hold very still...
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