The Fruits of Our Labors

by John Witherow Mother was in the kitchen slowly stirring a steaming cauldron of Harvest Stew. Both Wesley and Aaron sat in the parlor, gently brushing Marjorie’s golden locks. Sweet aromas danced through the air, filling the house with a warmth and good cheer that had been vacant for decades. Long had it been since the entire brood was under one roof - and this was truly a harvest to celebrate. Large casks of yams and mead were brought up from the cellar. Even Padre Lorenzo was meant to Read more [...]

Chilled, Like Our Champagne

by Tyler Gillespie Remember that time when we were in Target, and you put a bottle of champagne in the refrigerated section, because we wanted chilled champagne (the only way I’d drink it) and Target only had room-temperature champagne, so we needed to chill it ourselves? And the champagne bottle blended-in with the wines and we laughed because we thought that this was true about most people and things (they blend in). And we left Target and came back to the store two hours later and Read more [...]

Farleigh

I’d Rather Die by Kim Farleigh Enrique Ponce had been hit by the first bull, a blood-stained, white bandage wrapped tight around his right thigh, his awkward short steps placing despairing lights in his eyes.  There was a white tear in his pants over his left hip and red patches smeared over his legs.  “I'm going back out there,” he had told them in the infirmary.  “Are you sure about this?” he was asked.  “Of course!”  So he was limping towards his second bull, each step like Read more [...]

Threads in the Forest

by Abigail Robertson She talked of working in the factories, riveting metal to metal, the amount of manicures it took to right the calluses. She said it was like sewing together planes. She asked what the war was like. I wanted to say it was like sewing body to body, trying to hold the world together…I told her people saw worse than me. She frowned. I was not a war hero with medals pinned to my chest. I was a man with neatly parted hair who drank too much, coffee and the other stuff. I could Read more [...]

Spotlight

By D. Trunick Eyes wide, legs quivering, sweat glistening, she feels ready to heave. The thick dusty red curtain brushes against her hands but provides no relief. “Why can’t I do this?” rolls from her dry parched lips. Panic and desperation enter her heart like a flash flood. She longingly watches from the side. Her conflicted soul jolts alive with the increasing brilliance of the lights above. Never stepping into view, her shadow begins to spin and sway to the music. Behind the curtain she Read more [...]

She…

By Sara Shah And so She was created from the dust, She who was Beauty, Compassion, and Love. The Creator placed her under the foliage of the dark forest, with an abundance of berries and seeds. She lived, alone. The Creator viewed her solitary state with sadness and sent beasts of the forest to accompany her. The beasts, although friendly, were not the proper companions to such a creature as She. However, the Creator quickly formed a new thought. The Creator impelled She’s eyes to close, and Read more [...]

When the Screen Goes Blank

by Pavelle Wesser I enter the elevator, watching the blinking red lights as I descend to lower level number nine, where I exit to face my interviewer. His gaze is so fathomless it fills me with a coldness that is absolute in its sense of... “Zero,” he informs me, “is the sum total of your life, yet I believe that everyone has the right to calculate his or her own loss.” He points me toward a cubicle, empty but for a desk, chair and adding machine. I sit and begin tapping out senseless Read more [...]

Cookie Purse

by Gina Douglas   My maternal grandmother and my father both told related stories about me when I was a child first learning to talk.  I don't think my Baba and my dad ever heard the other one's story, nor did they ever put their stories together into the real story. My ol' man used to proudly tell about the first two-word combination I put together.  He thought it was real clever.  We were in the grocery store, I was seated in the buggy.  I pointed at what I wanted and said the Read more [...]