Chey Dugan In the parking lot of Thrive & Blossom, I scratched the stubble on my neck that I had been too lazy to shave away that morning. On my day off, I didn’t have...
Chris Edmonds We went once to see our father in Crawford, that spring he’d been hired to paint the church steeple. We told our mother we were taking a long bike ride around the lake and maybe...
Kelly Murashige The baby has been crying for what feels like three days straight. Mari, for her part, has joined in intermittently. It isn’t just the stress of being a first-time parent. The pain....
Erika Niemi “Well, the real trick to being happy is to kill yourself.” He spoke out one side of his mouth to keep the cigarette he’d just bummed in place while he brought up his lighter,...
Edward Pretty “I’m building a town,” he says with an assuredness I was drawn to. “I’d like to visit,” I say, and write my number on his receipt. I watch him leave, carrying his ten kilos...
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...
