The Dawn Chorus – by Julia Dale Pollard

I’ve been her helper for thirty-some odd years now and in that time, I’ve gotten to know all her likes and dislikes. Her quirks and eccentricities. Every day it’s the same thing. She gets up at the crack of dawn, I bring her some toast and a cup of hot tea. The toast has to […]

Where Liam Sleeps Tonight – by Lori Green

I hold the envelope in my hands, the pressure in my chest building, threatening to engulf me. I know Natalie would have wrestled with sending it, not wanting to hurt me, but ultimately deciding she didn’t want to risk excluding me.

Then the Healing Began – by Eric Janzen

Jeremy’s shoulders rose and fell as he let out a quiet groan. He stared at the red dot on his phone. “Damn messages,” he said. He tapped the icon and listened. “Hey, Jer! Camron here…again. Listen, I’ve got an extra ticket for a concert tonight. You are coming. It’s a new band, Nouveau Coeur. Everything’s […]

Square Knot – by Andrew Shaughnessy

If ever there was a day for an invitation not to arrive, that day would have been the day of my grandmother’s funeral.

A Life on Fire – by Lindsey Harrington

Whispered conferences took place while Clarice slept.

“What’s the plan for today?”

My Mother’s Ladder – By Finnian Burnett

My mother is building a ladder. She says she needs to change the bulb in the hallway, the one she has asked my father to change only a dozen times. I stand in the doorway of the garage and listen to her banging and swearing, the thundering bellow of her voice shaking the doorframe.

Soundtrack for a Marriage in Ruins – by Tara Mandarano

The sonic landscape of my living room is both melancholic and magnificent as I sit down to my first COVID Christmas Eve dinner, alone, with just the cats to keep me from face-planting in the gravy.

The Night Nanny – By Brianne Sommerville

Amelia thought Lola resembled a pig in a blanket, swaddled tightly and nestled in the crux of her arm. Perhaps the appetizer came to mind because she was hungry after nursing her baby.

Casting For Meaning – by Elizabeth Pike

Age 28, Northwest Pond, Newfoundland The happiest I ever saw my father was on a fishing trip. Stress and swear words as we lurched along the dirt road onshore: “fucking potholes” and “Jesus struts.” Strained conversation and accusations as we wrangled the boat offshore: “How could you forget that?” and “Not that way, for Christ’s […]

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, […]