First-generation Columbians, meaning whomever you came over with you were stuck with. Which is why his mom didn’t leave the husband who beat her, still kept in contact with the uncle who molested her oldest son. People will use the word family to tie you down, to tie you to them. Forever if they can. So, Fernando left as soon as he turned 18 and never looked back.… more
Tag Archives: Brothers
Belonged to Someone
FICTION by Brian Stephen EllisAnd the void opened up in my mind, a vast blankness at the edge of a bright red line of boundary, and I didn’t fully understand.… more
Googly Eyes
FICTION by Shane StrickerIf Jeff hadn’t told folks it was my birthday damn-near every time we went out to eat growing up, I’d have thought someone got cute with their lighter games in Bob Evans and things had gotten out of hand. … more
Homer Postcard & Victim of a Crime
FICTION by Kurt Mullen“You should see this piece of land I have,” he said. “Most days, it’s just me and the dog out there, and it’s beautiful.” It was the last thing I heard him say before he said goodbye. He was building a house. When he got back from six weeks in Portland it would be fall approaching winter, and even if he paid somebody to keep his worksite clear of snow, what kind of shape would he be in, working in the cold? … more
The Gallows Fifty Cubits High
FICTION by Katie ArmstrongAll I can do is search the room for someone who can help me. But Marie went home a half hour ago, Saul’s sitting with his head buried in an ice chest, and all the cousins are dancing, bunched up in front of the DJ, wasted. I’ve seen worse—it’s Purim—but it might be time to panic.… more
The Time Lassie Let One of the Boys Die
FICTION by Brett M. BourdonOne afternoon, the summer before I started junior high, I left my younger brother to die frozen and alone in the English countryside. I’m speaking metaphorically, of course. The nature of this metaphor will become clear to you very soon. Not metaphorically, my younger brother and I rode our bikes to the local Aldi grocery… more
I Have Always Been Here Before
FICTION by Joey R. Poole“I am scared that some government agency is going to come take the baby away from me. He is not, after all, mine… more
New Baby
FICTION by Joshua KleinbergThe last time Sol and I had spoken was over a casket at our Uncle Lyndon’s wake.
“He was a good guy,” said Sol.
“He used to hit us with his King James Bible… more
