Fiction
Who Cares for the Dead
A lean man of average height with intelligent eyes set far apart, a narrow chin, and a mouth that sloped downward at its corners, August..
Section
Short Fiction
Showing 193-216 of 315 pieces
Fiction
Fear and Feathers
Every evening, she set up the altar afresh, because she couldn’t leave it out overnight. Even if it didn’t rain, the dew at dawn was..
Fiction
The Jim Crow Dope
“There’s not supposed to be a test,” I said. The man behind the table gave me a skewed look, his mouth turned in a malignant..
Fiction
Land Lore
Alan finds a glade with no overhead branches that might come crashing down if winds blow up. But hard ground, rough with exposed pebbles, frustrates..
Fiction
Gender Reveal
Jordan chewed on her pinky nail until it started to bleed. “Shit!” She reached over Avery’s lap, opened the glove box, and pulled out a..
Fiction
The Year of the Tomato
When I was growing up, the Chicago suburbs of Chicago ranked within a hierarchy of goodness and desirability. You had the ones on the bottom..
Fiction
Salami
The summer after 6th grade, my lizard died. My parents had never owned reptiles before and the vet we took our dog to wouldn’t cremate..
Fiction
Sundown
“Hey! Where’d that woman put my fan?” Mimi yelled. “That woman—she took it. I know she did. She’s always taking my stuff.” Ruth held her..
Fiction
Scavenging
A dozen donuts popped and sizzled in the deep fryer. As they floated into one another, Cosmo took out a pink box from under the..
Fiction
The Lesser King
It’s just an unknown web journal that probably no one reads, but something I wrote has been published. I’m thrilled. You would be, too. I..
Fiction
Trespassing
Their mother knocked on the door and leaned inside quick enough to catch Susan swaying to “The Wallflower” playing on her transistor radio. Elyse, lying..
Fiction
An Evening with my Father
I noticed the paint coming off the white iron table in the lawn. I had made two steaming cups of coffee, baked some shortbread for..
Fiction
Catacomb
The soft, wet grass beneath our rain boots made squelching sounds as we straggled behind the tour group led by a small, dark-haired, Italian woman…
Fiction
In Those Days
In those days, there were no wheelie bins, there was no recycling: you put the trash out in round metal cans of the sort you..
Fiction
The Architect
“I need three Model B’s by this afternoon,” said George Oxburn, “And Harrison, nothing fancy.” Oxburn pointed to a sign posted above Ronald Harrison’s cubicle:..
Fiction
Cats
‘I have been thinking about getting a cat for some time,’ my husband said between sips of tea. I looked up in surprise. I had..
Fiction
The Incandescence of Boredom
Nandu turns five today. I’m given a list of things to get for the birthday party. Crayons, extra paper cups, Scotch tape, board pins, apples,..
Fiction
How To Converse With The Dead
When he was five years old, my grandfather discovered how to converse with the dead. It was a time for believing in Argentina. The Man..
Fiction
Still the ‘A’ Train
Not too many memories here, in these chic walls caught in the daily grind. But between the walls there are those truths—whistling through the subway..
Fiction
The Mosque
“You shouldn’t wear red. It’s not slimming. You need dark colors to minimize your weight. Are you listening to me?” Margie walked away from Vivian’s..
Fiction
Pretty
Kyle used to be pretty. He used to stop them in their tracks. He pretended he didn’t notice how mouths hung open and brains whirred..
Fiction
E-Love
What you seek is seeking you, Sara reads, a languid smile on her 26-year-old lips as she flips through a faded blue notebook and pauses,..
Fiction
Mother
It rained all through May in Fruili Venezia Giulia. One Sunday they ran the marathon wearing raincoats and windcheaters. Sidrah put her one-person moka pot..
Fiction
Epiphany
I turned seventy-five yesterday. Maxine, this alluring intuit from Mexico, told Sanjay last year, that I would wake up on the morning of my seventy-fifth..