By: Ram Govardhan The towering, ornate Nigerian teak door at the end of lane is usually closed and persistently watched over by very old Rasul Chacha, as if he is on a continued lookout for someone wicked. Because the lane…

By: Ruth Z Deming She’d kept his photo at the bottom of her jewelry box, under her stunning wedding ring that bastard Stewart had given back, after the four children were grown. She took back her maiden name, Goodland, had a…

By: Michael Fryd The Social Order Police arrived in the nick of time before she had a chance to set the house on fire, and took her to the Holding Facility. This was her third violation and she wondered what would…

By: Richard Tattoni “Don’t you like it here, Dick?” asked Dr. Everything-Will-Be-Alright. It was the oldest hospital in the city. I was in the emergency room. To be honest, there wasn’t a hospital room on the planet where I would want…

By: Prashil Kumar When I turned nineteen, grandfather took me to a neighbouring village. There, he introduced me to a random family and informed they were going to be my inlaws soon. I had no option but to obey. “Yes, Grandfather.”…

By: Neyda Sandoval “Babe, please calm down. Don’t worry you will be fine,” Nathaniel reaffirmed Cindy as he increased his speed to merge onto the freeway. “That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have to live with diabetes, blood transfusions…

By: Neyda Sandoval Sweat dripped down his face, frantically trying to button his shirt and zip up his pants, after Elijah realized it was Sunday. Elijah Jones, was late for mass and did not want to be scolded by his girlfriend…

By: Chloe Spencer Concentrate. Breathe. Focus. Jacqueline stared at the whiteboard. Her eyes flickered as she watched the lecturer’s hands, moving from left to right, top to bottom. It was as if her professor’s hands were dancing around the equation she…

By: Samuel E. Cole The window shades are closed. Bobby, my husband, prefers darkness, believing transparency echoes nebulousness. He’s shady, too, speaking neither of a value system nor of its usefulness. He does, however, understand neglect, which makes it easy for…

By: Victor Azubike  General Steel the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Armed forces sat on an armchair, luxuriating close to the Olympic size swimming pool of the State house on a languorous evening in June. With him…