Tag: Fiction Fall 2023

by Amanda Vogt I met a boy at the swimming pool once. He was skinny and flat—like all it would take was one jab of my finger to send him stumbling backward, sinking below the ripples of the water. We stood chest to chest, too close to the ledge, his suit dripping icy splashes onto… Continue reading The Swimming Pool →

by Aamena Lalji We eat popsicles in front of the television, sucking on them ‘til our cheeks are sore, peeling like wallpaper. Red juice drips down both our chins. You break the stick in half and tuck the pieces beneath your top lip, over your front teeth, smile that gummy smile at me. “I’m a… Continue reading Walrus →

by R. H. Nicholson Father Francis Paganini was dead. He had collapsed in the rectory kitchen while drinking a glass of water as he cooled down from playing basketball with the fifth-grade boys at St. Joseph of Arimathea School. A youthful, vigorous man of deep faith, whose unbound energy was contagious among his parishioners, Father… Continue reading Father Frank’s Funeral →

by Leslie Benigni The woods bring me back to myself and to myself I shall go, not wider but deeper. Doing things for myself, such a formerly unknown thing, to help myself be myself, doing things for myself. The woods give me respite and recharge. Off on a journey to the woods to nowhere, a… Continue reading November Reeling →

by Joshua Monroe After making love, he usually went straight to his desk by the bed, typed away on his refurbished typewriter. An heirloom from one of his clients—he mentioned that once. While he typed, apparently unaware of the previous moments and of my cheeks, still flushed, I liked to imagine he was writing a… Continue reading The Typist →

by Erik Peters We sit on the terrace. Evening gathers in the arid valley at our feet, pooling in the dells. Mexico City, a distant memory veiled in industrial haze, lies just over the next ridge. Birdsong fills the darkling air—flock and family exchanging the day’s news. In the village below, life is as it… Continue reading Mexican Elegy →

by Sarah Carolan TW: Drowning The peninsula claimed over two hundred ships in as many years. Victims would run afoul on hidden shoals or be driven off course by unpredictable gales. Others overestimated their maneuverability within the narrow, limestone-filled straits. But only one shipwreck, Griffin Lyons, captured Kat’s attention, and she blamed his demise on… Continue reading Lion of the Lake →

by Daniel Tarker “These reunions are always. . .” I tried to find the right word, but it was elusive. Miserable. Depressing. Death-defying. I finally settled on “unbearable.” I raised my plastic cup of microbrew and added, “the only thing that makes these events bearable is the booze.” Jennifer smiled politely and looked over at… Continue reading Love in a Capitalist Hellscape →

by V.A Wiswell 2022 My earliest memory is of violence. It follows me like a shadow. A lost dog. A nightmare. My sister Katelyn is singing “Landslide” from top to bottom, over and over, as we walk alongside the empty two-lane road after a full day of swimming at the lake. We’re almost home when… Continue reading Landslide →