I am suppressed, ill-formed, unwhole, a cruel afterthought of Nature. I am a trick played on us by Her. With three limbs to your four, I am more than appendage, but less than man. My grotesqueness emerges from your loins, miniature replicas of your head, arms, and sinister leg, yet the part that makes me … Continue reading I am Lazarus by Christina Dalcher
You Will Fall in Love With Another Funambulist His name will be Emil and he will walk the highwire as if he is one with it, swaying to a rhythm no spectator can feel, oblivious to the gasps and intakes of breath fluttering through the house. You will meet when you are a First of … Continue reading Balancing Act: Or, Things They Don’t Teach You in Circus School by Christina Dalcher
“Sometimes it’s too much,” Jack says. The ship hums beneath them, steaming out to the fishing grounds. He and Garl lean against the side. “If you’re on the water at night with sea black beneath you, and sky black above you, it all seems too big. Might swallow you whole.” Jack squints at Garl’s lopsided … Continue reading Trawling the Dark by Sera Flynn
Like most of John’s projects, the compost bin became mine to maintain almost as soon as he started it. I put a bucket on the counter and filled it with acceptable scraps. Coffee was a good source of nitrogen. Depending on what blog I read, citrus was iffy. Meat? A definite no-no. Not long after … Continue reading How Does Your Garden Grow? by Georgene Smith Goodin
Mustafa had been a conductor since the Occidental Railway launched. Or ended. Timing was difficult to pin down with life unfolding in reverse. The line’s anomalies weren’t revealed in the interview. Perhaps Petr in HR was unaware. The job description promised short trips, a dream come true after a lifetime of traversing two continents. Compared … Continue reading The Way Station by Georgene Smith Goodin
Everyone knows that Dogman comes out of the woods every seven years, on the seventh day, of the seventh month all well groomed and handsome. He swaggers out slow to sit at the Olde’s heavy wooden bar and drink whisky, before getting up to dancing with whatever women catch his eye. This summer’s no different … Continue reading Dogman’s Daughter by Ani King
The mailman stopped short before the enormous work boot, and looked again at the letter in his hand. It was addressed to Mrs. Mungo Oliphant, Size 99 1’2 EEE, on Drury Lane. It was a pretty big boot, the largest he’d ever seen. In the front of the toe he found a brass mail slot, just below … Continue reading There Was an Old Woman by Elizabeth Archer
I’ve walked a lot of blacktop since leaving home almost five years ago. Worked my way across the country on one paving crew or another—driving trucks, swinging signs, making memories. Nothing’s better than a piece of road running beside you. The way it feels underneath your feet, the way it curves and twists, the way … Continue reading Flowers in the Road by Jennifer Todhunter
Ten You were unhappy; this much is true. When he’d revealed after your wedding what he really was, you heard nothing but the winter wind howling in your ears. You told him it was fine but wept silently through the night once you understood. To be married to a bird; who would have thought? The … Continue reading From Sedna’s Hands by Chelsea Hanna Cohen
When we here at Syntax and Salt started talking about creating a place to showcase magical realism short stories I knew there would be pieces from within our group that would do so well at setting the stage for our project. This piece by Jen Todhunter makes me think of a flame cupped against the … Continue reading The Alabaster Man by Jennifer Todhunter