The Reckoning – by Andrea Harbour

The man is ready. He isn’t going to be caught napping, no siree Bob. His opponent seldom lost a fight, or so he had heard, but tonight Ted, as he prefers to be called, is confident everything needed to win is at hand. He has whiskey, to keep his insides warm, but not too much, […]

Being Her Sunshine – by Dawn Beecroft Teetzel

The kitchen is in total disarray. A whispered groan escapes my lips as I take it in: pots and pans strewn across the counter top, the table obscured by dainty floral china. My father has cleared a small area for his cereal bowl and coffee mug. “I see Mom was at it again last night,” I murmur.

Immense – by Jennifer Mariani

I am oozing, spreading outwards. I fill the crevices of places that once made me uncomfortable. I expand and echo; no longer silent. I am unhushed – loud- the voice my mother never had. I am vivid, plum and persimmon, seeping into the cracks of confinement; staining the walls you built to contain me. I […]

Teatime – by Lindsey Harrington

Hazel rocks herself up from the chair, launching herself on the count of three: “one, two, threeeee,” she grunts. Once she gets her balance, she shuffles to the kitchen to flick on the kettle. Her daughter, Kelly, bought the newfangled electric kettle in April, right after Hazel’s stovetop model boiled dry. She’d been snoozing in […]

Have you seen this person? – by Stephen Garrett

Have you found her? Have you even looked? Have you really looked? When did you last look? Did you actually put your shoes on and go outside and walk around the neighbourhood or did you just stand on the porch, look up the street, have a smoke? Did you call her name? Did you yell […]

Maddy – by JP Lorence

‘Maddy’ is a short story intended as an adaptation of the Greek tragedy ‘Medea’ by Euripides. The primary characters and plot line have been preserved while translating the setting and time period into modern terms. The household is now an early 1990’s-era Midwestern American trailer park. The main character, Maddy, is a part-time biology student […]

Collectibles – by Robert Moore

Human Resources had summoned me by email, my team having missed its quota, when Angie called. She was crying on her cell phone and her voice was muffled. Then the signal burst through in painful clarity. “Karen? Dad’s dead!” “Are you sure?” I asked her, a stupid question. “What happened?” I loitered by a […]

The Disastrous Disappointment of Dictatorship – by K.A. Mielke

The teenage assassin runs the length of my office in her stylish-yet-sensible boots, flailing nunchucks overhead. I am disappointed to see her – she isn’t exactly the singing telegram I was hoping for – but, as President of Nation, I am unsurprised. One end of the nunchucks (one nunchuck?) hits the ceiling fan. A […]

Hard Crust- by Mark Hoffe

The smarting, purplish-blue mass compressing Father Dawson’s right eye reminded the doctor of the beached jelly-fish he and his fellow bay urchins once impaled on rough-hewn driftwood swords and spears.