The rumor has it there’s a vending machine on the corner of Kennedy and Main that lends an ear. Leona tells me it’s for real. Its buttons are the color of rust, she says, once possibly a brighter red. A tear sizzles down her cheeks as she squirms closer in bed. I once fed it a coin after my mother’s death and it gave me a quarter of her heart back.… more
Category Archives: FICTION
GOOD TIMES IN HERMOSILLO
FICTION by Mather SchneiderArturo loves his motorbike. It’s good on gas. He’s always about town, popping in here and there, zip, zip, in and out of traffic, cutting corners, up on the sidewalk, he zigs and he zags, he zags and he zigs, he’s a bumblebee, big fat Arturo on his little motorbike, beep beep!… more
Always Coming Home
FICTION by E. N. DíazYou were unable to defend yourself against the accusations of your family members because the only defense you could think of was also a confession, and you were terrified.… more
Holiday
FICTION by Amita BasuWhen you’re stoned, you realize: separate bodies, separate consciousnesses—that’s an illusion. There is only One. We were one with the bus stumbling up the mountainside. My nausea was one with Manisha’s. I wasn’t yet nauseous: not need-a-lime nauseous: but I felt Manisha’s nausea exactly as, soon, I’d feel my own. Soon? Already I was feeling it.… more
Apartment 1848
FICTION by Emily Strempler“Early for shift,” it said. “One minute, thirty-two seconds. Twenty-seven hours, fifty-two minutes, and twenty seconds of voluntary overtime have been logged to your account this period. Would you like to volunteer to give up a shift?”… more
Just Breathe
FICTION by Dawn LoweShe leaned over and kissed his purplish hand, the fragile skin bruised by blood tests and IVs. “If I wanted to get rid of you, I‘ve had a few opportunities lately that I didn’t take.”… more
Two Stories
FICTION by Richie ZaborowskeThe truck testicles swung slightly; not for the first time that day Cody regarded them.… more
ZSHTWEET Charity
FICTION by Ben UmayamWhat is her problem. Why doesn’t she go back to the front of the church with the other beggars. Why does she have to ruin our set. She is spoiling it all, spoiling the whole thing. Her with her deformed legs and that whistle.… more
Have a Good Life
FICTION by Robert Garner McBreartyShe stared up at the darkened ceiling and said, I’d prefer it if you’d fought in a war or something like that. You might seem romantic and sad to me then. … more
Thrift Store
FICTION by Anthony KorandaHis skin was tanned like old leather, a childish tattoo of No Fear scrawled across his throat, dancing as his gums flapped. I wondered if they hurt. His gums bouncing back and forth against each other. I closed my eyes while he spoke about drinking malt liquor and riding trains in his younger days. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t picture him with teeth.… more
