SPRING STORIES – OLGA KLEZOVITCH: Spring Breakers
The Spring Break couple giggled and splashed and did other adorable things until I came into view. The girl shrieked. The boy darted toward me. I acted in self-defense. Now, chewing on their limbs, I...
View ArticleSPRING STORIES GRAND PRIZE WINNER – BETH TILLMAN: Farmer’s Market in a...
The farmer’s market was busy. Fred’s eggs were famous. The bowl of them had a sign: “Aigs 25¢”. Fred laughed it up with the townsfolk. They bought all his eggs because they liked their taste and Fred’s...
View ArticleMARK TWEDDLE: Birth of a Sorry State
“I’ve invited you here to discuss this planet’s future. If we’re to achieve the ideal Big Brother State effectively, we need is a camera everywhere that there is a person, and get them to proclaim what...
View ArticleREBECCA NOUR: Metaphor for a Metaphor
He is a sly fox. Cunning. Shifty. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. I believed he could change his wayward ways. I hoped for reform but was met with disappointment. He broke into the farm...
View ArticleKERRY J DONOVAN: The Package
The package—brown, plain wrapping—arrives with no postmark. A tap on the door and it is there, brooding, ominous. I pull my daughter away, call the bomb squad, and wait three hours in the garden...
View ArticleLINDA CASPER: Clarification
Part of the beach was cordoned off. The press and inquisitive tourists descended like vultures. A white tent fluttering in the sea breeze now concealed the incident. The man wearing hooded overalls,...
View ArticleDEE MASELLE: Respites
Joe Sykes said the nametag of the dapper old tour guide who’d enlightened us about Applebloom Historical Mansion’s antiquities. His eyes twinkled toward lively satyrs carved on the headboard. “It’s...
View ArticleMEGNA MURALI: Face to Face
He could hardly believe a woman this beautiful would want to be with a geeky, nerdy guy like him. She was an enchanting goddess and he was, well, nothing special. He felt a hand on his shoulder and...
View ArticlePAUL BECKMAN: Watching
The watchers are watching the watchers. I watch from my bedroom window. Alpha watchers are being watched by Bravo watchers. I don’t see anyone else watching Bravo so I must be the Charlie watcher. That...
View ArticleJEFFREY LEHRBERG: Belial, Vice-President of Marketing
When they introduced the new vice president of marketing, Frank was amazed no one else noticed. Why didn’t they recoil at the sight of his bulging proboscis and webbed, leathery wings? The new exec...
View ArticleHARRY DEMAREST: Father’s Treasure
My father always claimed he had a baseball signed by Babe Ruth. After he died, we searched through his stuff. I found a baseball, but it wasn’t signed by Babe Ruth. It was signed by someone named...
View ArticleANNE LEVER: Two Pairs of Hands
I was sitting playing music in a bar at a Folk Festival. Positioned next to me were two pairs of hands, both neatly manicured, both painted the same colour. Both pairs of forearms were pale, hairless,...
View ArticleKENNETH DREXLER: The Thief
I am a thief and a liar. Forty years ago, when I was eight, I stole my cousin’s glow-in-the-dark super ball from his house on Thanksgiving morning. I told mom I found it in the park. The ball was lost...
View ArticleSTEVEN ORMOSI: A New Life
I left town and drove straight at the rising sun. No one would miss me. My radio screamed and I forced myself not to look back. A new life swelled over the horizon, while the old one turned to ash in...
View ArticlePATRICK YU: Hidden
Those thoughts again Yes, those kind Yes, you’ve had them, too The ones locked in a box I try to hide them How would I look If I was exposed? Do you question me? Are you so perfect? What’s in your...
View ArticleMICHAEL COOLEN: New Number 1
Martin Bledsoe was a short, plump, bald, harmless-looking man in his mid-50s. Nobody suspected he was also the best assassin in the world. Bang! Well, nobody except Emma Kronstad, a short, plump,...
View ArticleMADELINE THIESSEN: That Radio
The girl ran. The girl shouted, “Mother! That radio! It’s ea… Ahhh!” The mother ran. The mother shouted, “Husband! That radio! It’s eating my… Ahhh!” The husband ran. The husband shouted, “Max! That...
View ArticleCB AUDER: Nouveau Riche
Grinning, Earl invaded Gomper Hall, sporting a fuchsia waistcoat with orange-striped breeches, a feathered fez. His belt had bells! Earl slapped distinguished backs, strutted past mouths agape, open as...
View ArticleOLGA KLEZOVITCH: Bummer
The police officer really hurt my feelings. I said I was sorry for running over the old lady and that I didn’t mean it, but he still yelled at me and made me cry. I guess I will have to take my driving...
View ArticleJOEY TO: The Unveiling
After the cheesy introduction of the chefs, it was almost time to unveil the competition’s mandatory ingredient. In their stomach-churning anxiety to start whipping up dishes, the contestants waited…...
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