by Jack Coldicott

“…will we simply watch as the pendulum swings again, shifting beauty standards and offering new false promises, while the underlying struggle remains unchanged? Because to me, as a victim of the last cycle…we haven't learned a thing.”

by Kimberly Shaw

“Benzo demons lie dormant until ninety proof awakens them…”

by Aishwarya Kanchan

“Ever ordered a margarita with a twist? Tangy lime, your standard tequila, and a splash of smooth mead. That’s how I see Indian society—a blend that seems classic at first sip…Each sip, each moment, carries the weight of tradition used as a weapon. What’s celebrated as ‘flavor’ is, in truth, a bitter inheritance…”

by Aiden Butler

“I have a new theory. / Why not be happy while doing what you must?”

by Michelle Duke

“My mother made jewelry from Japanese paper, paper that mimicked the designs of fancy kimonos.“

by Luke Carter

“…no organism is built to witness horror and humour in the same five seconds, to scroll endlessly between catastrophe and distraction. Yet here we are, infinitely scrolling, mistaking exposure for empathy.”

by Reg Darling

“For a close circle of family and friends, “The Garage” became the place they went to hang out with Hartwell. …For those who consciously lived with one foot in the Pleistocene, it was that throughout the year. Some understood, some got it without knowing they got it, and many didn’t get it at all.

by Christian Osborne

“The token child and only daughter came with a lot of responsibility, and the crown, dinged-up and missing diamonds, was heavy, so darn heavy.”

by Findley Eve Holland

“Lighthouse keepers went crazy. Not all, but enough…You grew up in a lighthouse…I once mentioned to your girlfriend of ten years the lighthouse, and she had no idea what I was talking about.”

by Georgia Williams

“Hannah's roommates knew I had come for a funeral the last time I was in town. I wondered why they didn’t say anything to me, maybe tell me how sorry they were for my loss. …Is there a time limit for that kind of conversation? I know there isn’t one on thinking about it. Is there one on talking about it?”

by David P. Scaggs

“My father was a murderer and addict who was never clean enough for me to really believe that he loved me, but I wanted to be proud of me.”

by Brittany Miles

“Seven years of ignoring every sign. In me. / To only see the signs of madness. In her. / Her madness outweighed me. / But today, my body said, stop.”

by Christie Ellen

“‘Just say the word and we can get in the car and drive to Mexico’. Your maid of honour’s eyes don’t blink as she waits for you to respond.”

by Jack Etzler

“So, like, fuck man, if I knew about this Midwest Emo shit back in college I feel like I would’ve hit new levels of emotional depth…”

by Kathryn Reese

“My ex beside me, blocking my view of my daughter. My daughter, the sort of fighter who hides behind her hair.”

by Aaron Tomey

“He lived in a shed in my grandparents’ backyard, hidden from a world that had trouble looking into his one remaining eye, surrounded by “walls… covered from floor to ceiling with pictures of adult pornography”

by Zary Fekete

“We stood by the river. The fishing line in his hand like a quiet reward. Behind us, Váci Street shimmered with glass storefronts and clean white signage. Leather handbags, crystal shops, wine bars with English menus. The river didn’t care. It flowed between both lives, unbothered.”

by Basil Rosa

“It drove me to realize there is no single moment when we happen.”

by JD Clapp

“Wait…You gave your friend a hundred bucks to give Pops a hand job? In Chris’s car?”

by Anthony David Vernon

“Ghost trees, gators, and green grasses act as hosts to a wide river. The Everglades is an exit, a slow race to the sea, the type of host that invites you to leave.”