Fiction
May Contributors
X.C. Atkins, Kendra Augustin, Ioana Barbulescu, Amy Allen, Melissa Llanes Brownlee, Indigo Carter, Catherine Dean, Michael Fontana, Robert John Miller, Mitchell Ny, Brittany Pike, Albert Rodríguez, Nayt Rundquist, Daniel Sheen, Antonio Sodré, Mick Theebs, and Brian Washines
May Highlights
-
![]()
back in the city
Fiction by Brian Washines
“I took the radio out onto the balcony and tossed it. When it hit the parking lot it went into what appeared to be three separate pieces. Someone in one of the other apartments across the street laughed.”
-
![]()
flowers
Micro-fiction by X.C. Atkins
“I’d dump them into the lake just out of town, as usual. I sawed them into manageable pieces, listening to the Cocteau Twins.”
-
![]()
we dance the hula at the hotel luau
Micro-fiction by Melissa Llanes Brownlee
“and we dance the hula and we dance the hula and we don’t tell our stories not the ones you want to know…”
-
![]()
and then there is nothing
Fiction by Daniel Sheen
“‘I’m scared,’ I whisper, my voice trembling as the first celestial streak appears from over the horizon…can still see their polished brightness reflected in his black-water eyes. Painfully beautiful. The boiling sky veined with the fiery tails of a dozen artificial comets.”
-
![]()
long and behold
Fiction by Catherine Dean
“Let’s just say that if Plato’s Republic contained a perfect form for a bad mother, you might be it…A classic filiophage, like in Medea, like in The Brood. At least Medea knew how to create a beautiful table.”
niko’s fading song
by Brittany Pike
“…as long as something listens—be it whale or human or machine—the ocean will remember us all.”
the accidental buddha
by Mick Theebs
“‘Yeah, well if you think my ego was big before, just wait. It’s not every day someone achieves enlightenment you know.’”
flowers
by X.C. Atkins
“I’d dump them into the lake just out of town, as usual. I sawed them into manageable pieces, listening to the Cocteau Twins.”
back in the city
by Brian Washines
“I took the radio out onto the balcony and tossed it. When it hit the parking lot it went into what appeared to be three separate pieces. Someone in one of the other apartments across the street laughed.”
we dance the hula at the hotel luau
by Melissa Llanes Brownlee
“and we dance the hula and we dance the hula and we don’t tell our stories not the ones you want to know…”
and then there is nothing
by Daniel Sheen
“‘I’m scared,’ I whisper, my voice trembling as the first celestial streak appears from over the horizon…can still see their polished brightness reflected in his black-water eyes. Painfully beautiful. The boiling sky veined with the fiery tails of a dozen artificial comets.”
petey-petey
by Michael Fontana
“Back in 1978, Petey-Petey shook his tambourine at me. …The tambourine made him seem like a musician when he was just another beggar.”
long and behold
by Catherine Dean
“Let’s just say that if Plato’s Republic contained a perfect form for a bad mother, you might be it…A classic filiophage, like in Medea, like in The Brood. At least Medea knew how to create a beautiful table.”
the day the wanted man, everett franklin’s taken into custody, again
by Amy Allen
“he’s shirtless, barefoot, strolling the shoulder of I-95, callused feet impervious to Florida’s heat, his leathery skin akin to Juliana’s, the emotional support bearded dragon perched atop his head…”
the temporary release
by Antonio Sodré
“She hears stories just like hers. A thousand stories, each one the same and yet entirely different. When the gates lock, the partners are the first to disappear. Those who can't stomach the solitude chase downers and sleep the days away.”
charon
by Ken McRae
“I met Charon in the breakroom. He was standing in front of all three vending machines. He stooped slightly so his head didn’t hit the ceiling...His left arm displayed a fierce snake tattoo, with scarlet eyes and long, sharp fangs. His skiff pole leaned against the wall.”
i want out (or another short story about nyc subways)
by Kendra Augustin
“I tell her I miss the way she tastes. She slaps me. I tell her I want a baby. She bites me. I tell her I love her. She breaks my nose. I tell her to kill me if I ever am this stupid again. She wipes my bloody nose and nods.”
equilibrium
by Bree Atkins
“When two soulmates touch skin-to-skin for the first time, their body temperatures regulate to 98.6 degrees. This is called the Equilibrium.”
carnage
by Christie Chapman
“They were all at the fireworks show when we raided the community garden.”
the last time i saw you
by Cathlin Sullivan
“I didn't remember talking to her that night in the back of the cab, but I probably did because I have a big mouth and a heart that lives to pump, and I think a noodle fell out of my mouth while I looked for something to say.”
fish
by James W. Morris
“Yes I followed Fish. It seemed to want me to. I lunged at Fish & tried to catch it but Fish slipped away. I suddenly ran hard at Fish & tried to catch it but Fish slipped away. When I tripped over a treeroot Fish waited for me.”
the pearl harvester
by Shuyan Zhou
“He agreed to a cherry for a dream from Atlantic, after day two’s sunset. She’s excited to pick a cherry. Maybe, she’ll eat it by the shore, and her sun will join her.”
along the fence line
by Michael Hagen
“The years of fast were behind him. Everything now came measured, and it suited him. The land was leased out. Leaving the place was never considered.”
the blt festival
by Robert John Miller
“…sometimes too the animals would play tricks, and one year a wild coyote had only pretended to be taxidermized and he ate Bill, founder of Wild Bill’s Wild Taxidermized Coyotes, Ltd.”
into the yonder
by Cooper Clarence
“‘Attention passengers: Looks like we’ve finally broken through that rough patch and we’ve got smooth air ahead, so as you can see I’ve gone ahead and turned off the fasten seatbelt sign. Rodeo’s over—feel free to hang up your Stetsons and move about the cabin.”