by Khushi Bajaj

“‘There is clearly something wrong with her,’ he had declared to his wife, and so Sonam had wrapped Binny in a shawl and taken her to the well where girls could be exchanged. She brought back Tinny instead, and Raphael loved her innocent sleeping face.”

by Shawn Scott Smith

“I put the car in drive, and head home, alone, another late night looking for hope in the aisles of Walmart.”

by Jonathan Jackson

“We count prayer-hands emojis, watch our pain trend upward, and see our wounds be rewarded with reach.”

by Jack Timko

“The leaves rustled beneath our feet as we ambled along, each of us replicating observed behavior of familiar adults or movie actors, balancing a Kool between the tips of our middle and forefingers, the cherries burning vermilion.”

by Tom Newcomer

“He wished for exciting memories, to have enjoyed a memorable life. Intriguing and mysterious events, secrets left untold. The kind of past that catches up with you, he thought. That’s the thing.”

by Delphine Gauthier-Georgakopoulos

“Margaret had never been smart and—being acutely aware of it—was insecure, hence her choosing a random topic that was of no interest to anyone.”

by Kris Green

“I don’t remember my mother’s death. I remember things around it. The smell of her car, the night table with the hankies, and then random things that come back to me.”

by Eylie Sasajima

“Sweet rot of deer carcass wakes me in my ditch nest. It is juicy warm amidst the crisp frost of a long night.”

by Lana Lowe

“Headline: Are you finding slivers of metal in your apples? Here’s who to call”

by Mary Thorson

“Sister, I dreamed about a dead rat, and I know no one wants to hear about dreams but listen because this is so important.”

by Swetha Amit

“…it was the ringing phone that kept reverberating in Mira's ears. It made her heart flutter like a trapped bird, and it delved into the fabric of her darkest memory.”

by Sharon Bippus

“We’re two guys past our prime looking for a thrill.”

by Thomas Kopperwas

“Faster and faster he went, until the bike merged into the lucent moonlight; fading to white...”

by McKenna Robison

“I hoped to go through a different hallway that might lead me to the blue door. My heart was pounding, and my limbs were loose and shaky from nerves, but my mind was clear with adrenaline.”

by Enrique De Alba

“The wheels on the bus go round and round. I hummed the song against the window, spinning the world into a blur of green.”

by Jonathan Daniel Gardner

“We sat on one of those molded plastic benches in the quiet wing…The air smelled like citrus cleaner. Every few minutes the ceiling speakers released a single chime. It made me look up, like someone had entered the room.”

by Andrea Marcusa

“Slobbery flesh suddenly crushes my mouth. Cigarette tongue, whiskey and greasy pepperoni breath. He didn’t leave? Why are you here? So heavy. Get off me! Leave!”

by Brooklyn Armstrong

“Darla could no longer feel where she was. Still, she persevered, she ran, until there was nothing. Nothing at all.”

by Gracie Lyle

“Maybe I hadn’t summoned Mitt from the app—maybe I’d made him. Maybe I’d used Tim’s profile as a jumping off point, and then I’d stuffed jpegs with organs. Blown breath into text messages.”

by Chelsea Cutler

“We buried his hand under the willow tree in his back yard. It was an intimate ceremony; Link hadn’t bothered inviting his parents.”