Ted isn’t coming to bed anymore. Susan, who describes herself as “his wife” only with the addition of “long-suffering”, will instead come down to him and ask him what the hell he is doing in the name of God. She will come down the stairs (the old wooden boards and her old wooden knees creaking … Continue reading Dreamwashed by TL Krawec
She was fifteen when her parents realized she was a kite. First, they tethered her to the bedpost to stop her from flying out the window. She kept bumping her head against the ceiling, though, so they tried other places next: the kitchen table, to keep an eye on her, but the cat wouldn’t leave … Continue reading The Kite Girl by Natalia Theodoridou
June tugs her jeans lower on her hips, feeling giddy in the half-dark. Such a breathless night, the wind stirring the trees like a great cauldron of apples! She’d like to pull off her T-shirt, let the moonlight and foliage tattoo her breasts in shifting shadow, but she can’t quite shake loose thirty-two years of … Continue reading Junebug by Kellelynne Riley
Omar walked in his front door, locked it, and froze. The house was silent and he could see all the way into the living room, where the time engine sat covered in a lace white tablecloth. All the curtains in the house were drawn, and the last bit of afternoon light was just enough to … Continue reading One Last Time by Lorena Torres Loaiza
Woman’s Knife Ruby had called in all her favors for the obsidian. A very unfeminine request, some remarked. She hadn’t collected the sharp edged slab of obsidian. Her brother’s friend, obsessed with conquering mountains, left it at her door. It all boiled down to glass. A frozen pool of translucent black that cut her fingers … Continue reading Woman’s Knife * Dead Skin * Stealing Canoes by Sloan Thomas
Upsherin (Yiddish, lit. “shear off”) is a haircutting ceremony observed by a wide cross-section of Jews and is particularly popular in Haredi Jewish communities. It is typically held when a boy turns three years old. (Wikipedia) Payos are the (often curled) sidelocks worn by some Orthodox men. Tzitzis are the fringes that hang from a … Continue reading The Shearing of Yossi Mandelbaum by Anna Lea Jancewicz
The boy made of water doesn’t answer the door when the neighbors come knocking. He’s lived alone for a long time now, and people frighten him. He has seen their cars come up the winding drive, has heard their voices at the door. His mother is the woman who made him. She was a mad … Continue reading A Soft Heart by Cathy Ulrich
Benicio Armando Solis set aside the noose he was weaving when the severed hand washed ashore. Benicio had been exiled to one of the outer islands of Rubio for longer than he could remember, penance for a crime of passion he was indeed guilty of committing. For the first several years he tried everything to … Continue reading The Hand that Washed Ashore by Kurt Newton
“Naflah is very beautiful,” Father says as he guides Fazil into the majlis. “Much more beautiful than the first sister. Come and see.” Fazil enters the room, followed by his three wives. He is tall and smug, a picture of self-righteousness and power. He wears robes purchased with our dead sister’s gold; he demands coffee … Continue reading Diprosopus by Christina Dalcher
“This is a story of a little girl who lived in the arctic territories. Under the northern lights and on the land of the midnight sun, she found her passion for art and was taught how to use a paintbrush. But feeling no emotional connection to the snow or to the cold, the hands of destiny gradually guided … Continue reading Trisha Oldfield, Artist Profile