Tiny Smuggler – by N.E. Rule

“You’ve already searched me and found nothing,” Sam says.

I Miss the Stars – by Melissa Grace Reeve

In the summer, it’s not dark until well after he should be asleep in bed.

When Will You Drink from Me Again? – by Valerie Hickey

I arrive in a midnight storm bursting from an angry cloud

Grit and Determination – by Alex Clare

The gorse bush, where my fingers were currently buried, jutted out from the slab with a brash confidence.

Ice Fishing – by Stephen Garrett

Eventually, the trees end abruptly and you are at the lake, an expanse of white, bounded by trees and ice-encrusted granite.

Want – by Oskar Westin

What could become of us? A broken child and a 30-year-old father of two girls.

Abandoned – by Andi Myles

I think maybe
I will–if only to play
at Mary Magdalene.

transgender- by Crow

do you see yourself in the mirroror a different person entirely?do wide hips and a full chest look good to you on othersbut never on yourself?do you find yourself “accidentally”walking into the “wrong” bathroom?do you get strange looks when you name intereststhat are seen as “tomboyish?”do your eyes turn greenwhen you try to wear rose-tinted […]

I Should Have Asked Sooner – by Gabby Gilliam

She looks beyond the fire to the flat surface of the lake. There is little in the way of moon and stars tonight, but lights from the lodge on the opposite shore glimmer on the water’s skin. In her eyes, the dancing amber flames ripple.

Her Best Friend’s Guy – by N.E. Rule

The final pic, October 31st, has the caption “He’ll be the death of me.” The photo is a close-up of Stephanie’s face.