By: Charles Varani I              Kenneth had invited me along for a picnic, along with Miko, his wife then, at the reservoir outside of town. I’d met Kenneth in college and we had been friends since. At the reservoir, Kenneth…

By: Jim Bates “Sorry to have to tell you this,” Doctor Jensen said, not looking all that sorry, “but you’ve got celiac sprue.” Celiac what? It sounded serious. “Am I going to die?” I asked, cutting to the chase along…

By: Sterling Warner I:         First Dysfunctional Confession “Bless me Father for I have sinned; this is my first confession,” I began, knowing I’d correctly uttered my lines. During the past few days, I practiced delivering mock confessions to my brother…

By Hayden Sidun For the seventh time that day, the wooden cuckoo bird came out of its birdhouse and sang its typical song. Terrence often thought about what an appropriate title would be for such a beautiful song. Perhaps the…

By: Christian Ward The afternoon where I discovered the word dying began with something simple as sunflowers. We had been touring the French countryside in the morning, visiting old vineyards and cellars and decided to eat lunch opposite a field…

By: Sheila Henry I believe I may have found the man, who can change my life in many ways. I look forward to experiencing him, Apple thought as she sat on the vanity gazing longingly at her image in the…

By: Bob Kalkreuter He’d finished his third drink before she told him she was leaving. “What?” he said, startled. They were sitting at an outdoor café, the late afternoon sunlight scrabbling over the cement in pursuit of retreating shade. She…

By: Reynaldo W Duar Jr Our story begins with our characters, Diane and Will.  Diane and Will are relaxing from a busy week. The year is 2027.   Diane and Will’s son has just gifted them the latest VR device. They…

By: Harrison Abbott      My elder brother Pete asked me to look after his four-year-old kid and I really didn’t want to but I had to accept because he had no other option. I reckon Pete must’ve asked a whole…

By: Anthony Ward A hoot from his phone woke him up. It was a tawny owl notifying him that a message had materialised. He picked up his phone while trying to wrench his eyes open. He was so tired that…