By: Zach Murphy Semisonic’s melancholy anthem “Closing Time” plays while Steve finishes up his last night as a security guard at HarMar Mall. This is almost too good to be true, he thinks to himself. The unsung hero gazes at…

By Mark Kodama I.             I own a used bookstore off of Hollywood Blvd. It is not much to look at but it is mine. There always seems to be customers in my store even on a Friday night, well…

By Mark Kodama I.             When King Bela of Hungary marched his army to the Sajo River on April 10, 1241, he knew the Mongols were near. He knew the Mongols were not warriors with whom to be trifled. He…

By: Bernice Groves        “Another one. You made it,” a voice says. “Tough journey?”        The boxcar rocks. A dozen shadowed bodies rock with it. Outside, the horizon lights up like winking Christmas lights. The train is a dying snake…

By Bennie Rosa Frank Stanley sat comfortably in his high-back wicker chair on the patio of his condo overlooking the Hackensack River. He could hear the Steins next door arguing with their teenage son. The wind was picking up and…

By: Bruce Levine The rain had lasted for three days and the streets looked more like a river than pavement. Walking his dog became more of an effort each time as the torrents of water washed against them and the…

By Gaither Stewart                                            1. At thirty-six years I’m on record as the youngest Operations Director in the history of the international cultural organization where I’ve worked for the last nine years. Now as my best friends know, I’m not…

By Chris Keyser There was no time for basking in it.  Perks Cafe couldn’t endure Ken Stagman for long before oscillating into hysteria.  And he knew it.  They knew it too.  A single iphone camera’s shutter flash would dash the…

By Sandra Ding During most daily commutes, one only sees strangers and doesn’t look closely. On an early evening in October, while the city dwelled in a soft, yellow haze, amid the bustle of the streets filled with the shuttling…

By: E.R. LeVar An old bonnet of hers still rests on a hook on the wall, long blue ribbons trailing down to the floor. A well-worn shawl drapes over the back of the chair, holes in the knitting letting the…