By Kathryn E. McGee I don’t recognize him at first, not until he says my name. “Peach?” My boyfriend, Kyle, is seated and waiting in the...

by John Yunker I held up my arm in front of a woman coming toward me like an early morning mall walker, in Nikes, purple leggings, a pink...

by Oliver Brennan Donna sits as upright as she can, helped by the hospital bed’s automatic lift. She stares at the television above the...

by Krista Beucler “Daddy is taking us to Hawaii,” Mom tells Keziah. She uses the bright voice she saves for talking to children, but...

by Laurie Rockenbeck Bob’s daydreams alternated between finding Suzi dead in their bed, choked on her own vomit, and coming home to her...

by Juniper Soledad is making out with my dead body on a bed of sand. Paper seagulls dangle from the ceiling. A video camera is set-up on...

by Matthew Johnson Breath in. Breath out. The blue mask covering Cassie’s mouth and nose rose and swelled like foam, trapping in her...

by Megan Jauregui Eccles When I sold my hair to save my sister, I thought she’d understand. A mermaid’s magic is in her hair. It was all...

by Ioannis Argiris “Damn. Jimmy’s got to keep this shit on the low,” Jules says. The U-Haul truck’s suspension seems lower than what he...

By Peter Steinfeld We’d gotten everything: cake, flowers, presents, balloons… The cards somehow had slipped my mind. I searched before...

by Wendy Maxon Sara used to love the pastel seascape she’d painted on her curbside mailbox, but today its red plastic flag beckoned like...

By Brian Asman So the other weird thing about Bruno Harbeck’s bar was he had this pigeon. It sat on a stool next to a vintage...

by Gary Grace I went to visit Mam every Wednesday evening in the home. Ultimately it was my decision. Her and Dad hadn’t spoken in years....

by Megan Jauregui Eccles “Grow yourself a boyfriend,” the box said. How easy it would be. Plant the seed six inches below the soil,...

TW: suicide, death By Leanne Phillips This afternoon, the sky reminds me of a sky I knew one hundred years ago. I reveled in cold winter...

By Art Hanlon Michael left Seattle the year people were getting in touch with their anger. All morning he began to notice the angry...

By Tomas Baiza “Sssso, explain to us, young man, why you believe we should proceed with thisss transaction?” The strange voice had...

Muhammad Ali's Ballpoint Pen by Ben Loory Muhammad Ali had a favorite pen. He found it in a drugstore one day. The pen wasn't anything...

From the Other Side by Jordan Nishkian Your breath casts a growing fog over the glass while the other side, slicked with rain, gets...

Any Given Night by Kathryn E. McGee The clinking of champagne glasses—it’s for me this time. I squeeze Bret’s hand while my best friend,...