Life must go on, we all agreed on that. We can’t live in fear. So we decided, yes–the kids would attend their Sunday morning tennis class, and yes–we would meet at the Café Ourcq, like always. But when we got there we didn’t enter, just […]
The boots you bought me for Christmas by Hannah Grieco
On our 293rd day at home, I pack a small bag with three pairs of underwear, my jeans, your soft sweatshirt, and I pull on the new $37 DSW boots you bought me for Christmas, tell our kids that I’m going to the store, yell […]
The Handyman by Lucille Bellucci
They come, some on canes or walkers, hopeful, tired, tentative, and my job is to hook up their TVs and hang pictures and most times I talk to them and say I’m Andrew, call me for anything you might need. Many don’t say much and […]
Visitor by Mary Corbin
I wasn’t there very long. What’s funny is, I’ve been here, a place I didn’t even want to go, for longer. I hated saying goodbye to everyone but it wasn’t up to me. It was just time to go. You can’t stay in one place […]
Automatic Stop by J.M. Landon
His reflection in the passenger side mirror revealed a profound impatience with the slow trickle of the gas pump. I imagine he was itching for it to finish so that he could feel alright about lighting up. He probably would’ve already been about halfway through […]
The Way I Used to Be by Vivian Doolittle
I sit here alone. It’s dark, save for the glow of the telly. The news is on. I’ve been watching the news for a long time now. There is always something interesting going on in the world. Sometimes it’s good, usually it’s bad. The petty […]
Too Many Boxes by Andrei Preda
Alexander stirs, hesitant to meet the golden light streaming in through the large bay windows and gracing his eyelids. He knows that the moment he opens his eyes, reality will hit him over the head with a brick. He knows that he’ll find himself in […]
Loyal by Laura Valeri
My father and mother: married fifty years, divorced five. My father’s long-ago sweetheart; a letter, a short-lived affair. He gives her half of his money and the beach-front condo. He moves into a smaller one in the same neighborhood. He can see her building from […]
A Journey into Self or What Auschwitz Can Do to the Soul by Christine Skarbek
Rain started the day and gray skies provided the appropriate ambiance for this pilgrimage. The bus was nearly full with over two dozen Poles all younger than I. There were some families with teenagers. We descended from this lush green mountain valley, winding our way […]
Ignoring the Weather Report by Marcelo Medone
Gray clouds gather over my head. It’s getting cold, even though it’s summer. Goodbye to my afternoon in the garden under the warm rays of the sun. The scent of jasmine invades me and fills my soul, as the first drops of rain begin to […]
The Way a Person Does One Thing is the Way They Do Everything: Eggs by Lindsey Danis
When you crack eggs, is the yolk whole or runny, is it yellow like buttercups, yellow like an Easter dress, or is it gold instead? Is the white jelly-thick, the shell farm-fresh and freckled with chicken shit and feathers? How do you crack eggs? When […]
In Which Crest White Strips Make Me Feel Optimistic About the Future by Lindy Biller
It’s time to take the $40 plunge. A break-up gift to myself. I’m 37, not young and not old, except to people who are older or younger than me. My favorite class to teach is Early Childhood Literature, and my colleagues say it’s starting to […]
