Theodore “Ted” Kortenkamp, now a junior partner at a prestigious law firm, lives in the shadow of his successful father and under the weight of family expectations. Experiencing difficulty in his marriage due to reluctance about starting a family, Ted has a realization after observing a wren’s domestic bliss in a bright yellow birdhouse his wife, Ellie, had hung in their patio. This moment of introspection leads Ted to confront his fears, culminating in a reconciliatory moment with Ellie, where he finally agrees it’s time to start their family. The story is written by Leon Kortenkamp, a San Francisco Bay Area writer and artist with an extensive background including military service and a Master of Fine Arts degree.

Carl Papa Palmer recounts his family’s humorous take on Ash Wednesday, with the priest’s ashen cross on his father’s bald head growing each year. His mother jokes about his ‘big canvas,’ and the siblings teasingly join in. The threat of skipping ice cream silences them, revealing a heartwarming family tradition imbued with laughter and sentiment.

By: Harrison Abbott My brother Freddie was sentenced to be executed. He’d been on Death Row for years; but he was due to be killed next week. On the Tuesday. So I drove over to see him for one last…

By Bruce Levine Being the new kid on the block isn’t easy. Pairings have already been made. Groups have been organized as if by some unseen and unknown hand sorting everyone; pointing to each person as if saying ‘you go…

By: Andrew C. Miller Periwinkle, a black and white short-haired cat with a dark smudge on his nose squeezed under the couch. He was searching for Blueberry, the Maine Coon cat. “Prrrtt?” he called, “Prrrtt-prrrtt?” No answer. He slipped behind the…

By Thomas M. McDade I thought I’d regret skipping a goodbye visit to the Windburn Barn so better safe than sorry I drove there. I figured a bunch of college kids would have rented it by now but there were…

By: Miriam Manglani Linda didn’t ask for a step daughter with Down Syndrome when she married Allen six months ago. She exhaled in frustration and paced through her bedroom, her heals digging into the white plush carpet. “You said we’d…

By: Steven Grogan I think I was just too nervous when I let my tongue go rattling off like the machine gun I was holding. Why did I have to say I was going to kill those people if my…

By L. Burton Brender For Jim and Anthony My older brother, Jose, he is a man. He has 16 years and he has been a chambelan. Two times. The first time he was the escort for this very pretty girl who…

By: A. J. Carey  Heart thumping, feet pounding, and muscles burning. Atalanta breathes in the cold, fresh air, and all other thoughts leave her mind as she focuses only on one thing; the finish line. To outsiders, she is a…