Sisyphus waits for his cowboy boyfriend to call and tell him he’s fucked up, he’s real sorry, he’s on his way. He didn’t mean to send Sisyphus away again, he won’t do it again. Sisyphus is always waiting for the phone to ring, but he always has to be the one to call. Sisyphus always calls.… more
Category Archives: FICTION
The Rattler
FICTION by Christopher StevensonMom said the Lord blessed me with a gift that would make people who loved me happy and people who mistreated me dead. … more
Dragon Teeth
FICTION by Sacha BissonnetteI told him the luckiest, bravest kids get dragon teeth instead of normal, adult teeth. I told him that dragons have big hearts like his, that need extra protecting. That’s why their teeth are sharper and stronger and longer than human teeth. Usually, a dragon about his age just needs to show his new teeth, and the threat will run away terrified. But if that doesn’t work, you need to bite. You need to bite down hard.… more
GRABBER
FICTION by Matt RowanIf the Grabber existed, you’d hear its strange sounds created by those slight movements and the thoughts you’d think would be enough to reassure you that it was not the Grabber. It was a creaky swing set. That’s what. Not even a dying animal. A swing set. And there was never any reason for fear or the instinct that compels a human’s flight from danger, to be allowed its running wild.… more
Liquid Doll
FICTION by Mehreen AhmedWhere was this promised land? One melted doll in the high desert sun. Mother was old when she died. But she rose again and became a laughing, walking, talking living doll, even loving like a sweet sixteen in one of the allies. Here he was with his friend, Omar, to buy another doll. That would’ve been pleasing if he could, yet he could not choose one.… more
Dan still doesn’t hate her. True and False.
FICTION by Catherine O'BrienTrue or false: Dan still doesn’t hate her? 1. He has papered his walls with abstract prints of multi-coloured koi? True. 2. Like most adults, he talks a lot about not feeling sufficiently caffeinated and how things were in his day? False. 3. As a child, he told his case worker that every rented family felt the same. He meant it too? True. … more
Blue Light
FICTION by Nikoletta GjoniEvery night I go to bed, I ask her what If I don’t wake up, what If I die in my sleep from a heart attack, and all she does is groan and roll over and tell me to stop being so dramatic. Sometimes I wish that’s exactly what would happen so she could feel stabbing guilt.… more
The Biggest Chicago Bears Fan on the Block
FICTION by Lisa ThorntonWhat he knew about feelings: That you swallow them, push them down into your intestines so they can’t escape, so they lodge in that warm pink space where they belong—not on the street, not on people’s faces all stricken and blubbery and slobbering. … more
Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?
FICTION by Bobby BangertBronco Bill no longer felt the need to mount a bull just to feel the hands of other men on his body while he braced himself in the chute. His whole life the only way he could get close enough to other men was to prepare for violence.… more
