By Harrison Abbott 24th Nov 2020 I used to think it was the birds that woke me up. But now I’m sure that I wake up for them. I used to hate being so near the window. Now it’s the…

By: Alison Goeller She wasn’t sure why she had deliberately banged her head against the door jamb that night. Or why she had asked his permission beforehand. She guessed it was her way of diffusing the frustration she felt at…

By Kajetan Kwiatkowski Tricia leashed the gentle giant, combed the fur around his collar, and gave him a prolonged, bombastic kiss. She fought the instinct to sling on the delivery vest hanging from her back door, there was always extra…

By: Janet Brown                 I was standing by the entrance to the dining area of St. John’s Mission when an old disheveled guy came waltzing in slowly, with a “far away” look in his eyes, trance-like, smelling like old sweat…

By John Blair She’s gone and it’s all my fault. Loneliness is just a word, but it sure can choke you. A few steps out of the door and my sore eyes are treated to the neighbors’ well tended lawns….

By: Caroline Piermattei She heard the chirp, the squeak. Then the black blur scurried past her leg. He climbed the tree then ran, having what looked like fun. Black squirrels, She strained to remember…aggressive,  rabid? As a stand alone event,…

By: Harvey Huddleston He’d been there a few times before, the BARC shelter.  It stood for Brooklyn Animal, then whatever starts with an R and Center.  The R might be for relocation or reassignment or rehabilitation maybe.  He never liked…

By: T. Peer D. C. Damen entered his detective section beneath the proclamation, Our day begins when your day ends. Beyond a rather pragmatic occupational dictum the homicides, suicides, and accidents stuffed a macabre party pack with the hostility, futility,…

By Ellis Shuman They were seated two rows ahead of me on the half-empty plane and without seeing their faces, or knowing anything about them, I could tell that they were totally out of their element. What was it? The…

By: James Bates A tandem bicycle was the last thing Liz and I bought before she left me for her personal trainer, a muscle-bound guy named Zeke. “I’m never coming back,” she told me as they drove off on his…