Jaime Gill September Well, this was a bloody stupid idea. About two months ago, you said, half-joking I think, that I should hire a therapist. “Don’t be absurd,” I said. “I’m...
Lydia Kim Every few days, a hair pokes up from the glossy surface of the hairline pimple she popped. It had crusted over like a manhole cover, then healed and left a slight, smooth curve. She pulls...
Jumaana Abdu 2025 Fiction Contest Winner Luqmān waited until Hābil was dead before he took stock of their camp. There was an eagle at the mouth of the cave with a brown snake under its claw. It...
James Gianetti My parents struggle to tell me something while we have Christmas dinner. They avoid it between cleared throats, sips of wine, and futile conversation about inflation and how warm it is...
Barbara T. Parker You are allowed one drink only, so make it count. My secret mission. I’m on my way to Old Town, the first night out since I became a shadow, abruptly and irreversibly over...
AnnElise Hatjakes Every summer, Reno, Nevada and the High Eastern Sierra foothills it’s nestled within are a tinderbox. The fires are measured by the number of structures they threaten and acres...
Samantha Zabell 9:02 pm I am throwing a funeral for a constellation and if no one comes I will feel like such an idiot. And not just because I went to Heinen’s and bought a whole sheet cake that...
Kindall Fredricks When I saw Margo on Tinder, I had only just broadened my search criteria to include women. Having just broken up with Jeremy—another sudsy all-American boy who treated the...
Naomi Brauner After the moose, I had to reverse down the mountain. The road twisted under my tires until I found a turnout where I could straighten my truck and fly. I practiced the breathing my...
Grant Jensen Young Tommy Jones is building a boat on dry land. The closest lake is a two-hour drive on a good day, but he says he doesn’t care and that he’ll wait for the rain to fall and...
