By: Naga Vydyanathan Mrinalini was up, even before the crack of dawn, fresh with renewed vigour to embark upon the day’s chores. Sipping her morning cup of steaming coffee, a necessity in most south Indian households, she quickly ran through…
By: Anthony Ward The moon sanctioned itself upon him as he stood defiantly against the wind, watching a moth drawn to the light of the bedroom window where she slept. He wondered whether the seemingly insignificant impulse of its fluttering…
By: Wyatt Tune Well, last night I noticed there was something wrong with the transmission. The car slurred when it moved, and all sorts of terrible metal noises had started coming out of the hood. There were the thumps…
By: Robin Doody “Are you Michael?” Michael looks up from his phone just a little bit. He’s tall with brown hair that is longer on the top than it is on the sides—both spiked and combed. He has hazel eyes,…
By: Harvey Huddleston Elliot wanted one of those watches with the black round dial so Andrew told him to check out Jacks. Sure enough, there it was at a decent price. Andrew was always good for things like that. It…
By Nancy Kazar Julia increased the volume on her device, but it didn’t drown out the shrill voices of her roommates or stop their relentless banging on the door. Julia removed her headphones and threw them on her desk. “Julia,…
By: James Bates “Hey, man, leave me alone,” I yelled, pushing Eddie away as he tried to grab the only pay phone on the psych ward out of my hand. He was a big man and it was hard to…
By: Constance Woodring It was spring, and the street was lined with cherry blossoms and magnolia trees. I stopped to appreciate the glorious fragrance that made me feel as if I were inside a talcum powder can. Ida picked a…
By: Vladimir Motchoulski The urchin told me to jump. “Jump,” he said. “Go on. Jump.” I looked away, down and away, toward the crystalline water shimmering at the bottom of the magnificent limestone gorge. Its seductive blue skin calmed the…
By Divya Chandrasekaran The vast hospital parking lot lurks among the shadows. Its asphalt blends seamlessly with the dark horizon beyond. The sun continues her peaceful slumber, tucked just beneath the skyline. A dim flicker escapes a street lamp hundreds…