by Yaron Dotan

“Abraham didn’t know how to make your wife love you. He didn’t know how to make your kids do right. And fixing the ozone? But he could help you choose the best easy chair for your tired bones.”

by Kendra Augustin

“The baby stares into your eyes like it has something to say. Does it have something to say or do staring contests just come naturally to babies?”

by Mitchell Ny

“Hup hup. Feel your chest expand. When it’s all-the-way full, take two more little sips and hold. Count to three. And whoosh—let it all out. Imagine your lungs shriveling like raisins.”

by Indigo Carter

“The female octopus lashes as she spreads her webbing sharp and sudden…She bites and the venom is numbing all over. I am disoriented. I am dizzy. I am hearing Isabella but am unable to make out her words because they are not in my language.”

by Tarah Burrows

“Tupelo trees slumber in a stagnant river, sentinels dozing under a net of stars. A portrait of idleness, they loom undisturbed. Stoic.”

by Albert Rodríguez

“It happened almost eight months ago, but the details were not sufficient for the public.  I’ll give you nothing but the facts. People said it was another flare-up in the so-called culture wars, which is a phrase that manages, with peculiar efficiency, to obscure more than it reveals.”

by Ioana Barbulescu

“I’ve been unwell for days. It’s the blood moon, my husband jokes, and I wonder if chewing on his liver would quench my anemic thirst.”

by Brittany Pike

“…as long as something listens—be it whale or human or machine—the ocean will remember us all.”

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.’”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”