The detective with the Mario Brothers’ mustache stared blankly at me and that manly caterpillar on his face rose and fell as he moved gum in his mouth from side to side. It was mesmerizing and made me stare at his mouth when he spoke like I was watching one of those dubbed Kurosawa films.… more
Category Archives: FICTION
Me x Marie
FICTION by Kari TreeseNetflix suggests Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. I start the first episode while I boil water for pasta for dinner again. This is the third night in a row that I’ve fed them pasta. After dinner, my children cloister in their shared bedroom and whisper about my weakening mental state. I keep watching Marie. She says to begin with clothing.… more
A Kind of Miracle
FICTION by Brian McVetyThe center’s walls read like a church basement’s. Every time he walked its halls, he was brought back to stacking plastic chairs and sweeping up coffeecake crumbs while he waited for his parents to finishing mingling in the stale perfume of belief. There is power in you, beyond you. When surrendering is the surest sign… more
It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
FICTION by Colin BrightwellShe doesn’t know what it’s like when those trains go by at night. The railroad tracks behind my trailer, carrying freight eastbound to St. Louis, or west to Los Angeles. Better places far away from here. She doesn’t understand how loud it gets when that train passes and that whistle blows and I can’t hardly… more
Trash Fish
FICTION by Shaun JexRandy Briggs, better known to pro-wrestling fans as Mountain Man Briggs, stared at the body that lay on the cracked bank of the Trinity River. It was the biggest fish Randy had ever seen, its long frame covered in huge scales that reminded Randy of shark teeth. Even in death, it looked intimidating. Its mouth… more
I Don’t Always Drink Beer, But When I Do…
FICTION by Y. LenIt doesn’t rain yet, but dampness hangs in the air, thick and heavy. A gust of wind plays with an empty Doritos bag, pushes it across the sidewalk, and slaps it on a stack of bricks supporting the rusty axle of a yellow Crown Vic parked next to the bus stop. I control my steps… more
Corporate Son
FICTION by Nick FarriellaEating alone at the wobbly table in the breakroom, I count each one of the ways in which I hate Jerry and forgive him for every single one. His perfect hair, forgiven; his sculpted chest, forgiven; his loud electronic music that overflows from his headphones, forgiven; his right-wing political stance, forgiven; his awful opinion on most things, forgiven; his inappropriate humor, forgiven; his deviancy on the internet, his gym obsession, his self-obsessed arrogance, his narcissism, his pseudo-intellectual podcasts, his cheating on his wife with my ex-wife, forgiven, forgiven, forgiven, forgiven, forgiven, forgiven.… more
I’m Not Going To Ask You
FICTION by John McCarthyIt was ten degrees and dark outside as Liam and Nicole drove down Highway 34 in Liam’s truck. The air and ground, snow-thick and dimensionless, disappeared the road and filled the couple with a sense of having travelled too far into somewhere unknown, outside the boundaries of what was allowed by physical law. December 23rd—and… more
A Confused Protestor in Front of Morton’s Steakhouse Slams ‘Carnivore’ Brett Kavanaugh
FICTION by Bethany BrunoA large crowd has gathered outside of the Morton’s Steakhouse in downtown D.C. Protesters, hell bent on disturbing the life of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. One man, with megaphone in hand, joins them to make his opinion on the pressing matter heard. Man with Megaphone (MM): Brothers and Sisters of the Revolution! Enough is… more
CAGING RESPLENDENCE
FICTION by T. L. Sherwood“When the stock market roars again, I’m prepared.” John Jacobs, on the porch at dusk, says things he thinks I like to hear. “Did I ever tell you a quetzal’s beauty is no match for you?” I tell him I’m no bird. He nods. A branch of magnolia waves in the heavy air. I take… more
