A New Kind of Literary Pulse

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Short Fiction
 4 min

Dia de los Muertos

Roger Ley

It’s a Mexican thing. You have to be Mexican to understand the mixture of sadness, joy and resignation we associate with death. We don’t want to die, but we respect our relatives who have gone before ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 4 min

The empty womb

Sarah Beg

The wind blew with a gust making the black veil slip from Saira’s head; she grabbed it tightly and covered her face, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. Finally she reached the preset ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 4 min

A Hilltop Feast

Irene Pyle

Behind the white washed villa stands a rugged barren hill and as you slowly walk up the incline you feel the sensation of clay, sand and silt trickling in-between your toes through the gaps of you ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

Shape in the Night

Jack Green

I had been there for almost three weeks when I first saw her. It would have seemed sort of bizarre, I guess, if everything else about the place hadn’t been so strange. I suppose I hadn’t really ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 3 min

Me Neither

Rocco

They had taken a drive out into the far plains where the distances looked wavy and desolate. Her name was Abigail and though she had once loved him greatly, something had changed down deep. His name ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

Why Bother To Travel

Susan Anthony

“Stop right there, Sailor. Sailor Sam here will pick up his own property.”

Nudged by the long menacing stick gripped in his hand, Sailor Sam was encouraged to pick up his own property ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

Beneath The Skin

Ashia

The mirror is an object of lies. As I stood in the bathroom looking in the mirror, I seen the lies through the piece of glass. I couldn't help but look at myself and see all my insecurities come to ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 2 min

The Plumber and the Lizard King

T. Ray

Stirred from his sleep by the ringing telephone, the plumber lets out a sigh after glancing at the clock in this early morning hour. He had hopes for a quiet Saturday, maybe go to a movie after a ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 2 min

Man of Inconsequence

Spark Boon

I have a trove of photographs from when the kids were small. I keep them in an old Hush Puppies box in the den underneath the cramped shelf where our old unused turntable sits.

It's a sad ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

Caregiver Burnout

Rooster

I had just managed to sit down and make myself comfortable for the 6 1⁄2 hour flight overseas.
He was one the last passengers to board our Boeing 737 bound for Honolulu.
Red faced and seemingly ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 4 min

Student and the Egg

Cjhannas

“Why would you have an egg in your hand at school?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

My sixteenth year as principal of Merriweather Lewis Elementary School was off to a swimming start. Madison ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 1 min

Why did I get up that day?

Ernesto

Why did I get up that day? When I opened my eyes, I could only hear their disproportionate and incomprehensible screams. I thought about going to see what they wanted, but then I figured it would be ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 2 min

Feminism For Dummies

Currado

I have two sisters.

Let’s call them Jill and Jane.

Jill lives in Manhattan and is an attorney in a prestigious law firm that represents people in show business. Jane lives in Brooklyn ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 2 min

A Lesson from Jamie

Eddy

His death certificate says rhabdomyolysis and kidney failure but what really killed Jamie was words, couched in two bromides available over the counter - You Can Be Anything You Put Your Mind To and ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 4 min

A Train's Journey

Bozlich B

I live in a train. I have food, warmth, a place to sleep.

I feel certain that I am its sole occupant, for if there were anyone else on it I would know by now, as I have lived in this train my ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 4 min

You're the One I'll Miss

Sue Perry

The girl's tears are soakers. They never flow enough to nourish me but that is not part of our bargain. She confides the secrets no one else can learn. I help her as much as one can by listening ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 1 min

Conversation Skills

Pamela Kenney

“Bill,” John said, in lieu of hello.

“John,” Bill replied, nodding his head.

“How are you,” John asked.

“Oh, the economy, you know.”

“Yeah, it’s not good, that’s for sure.”
...  [+]
Short Fiction
 1 min

Empty

Emel

I sat down. It was at the small square table. The chairs around me were completely empty; and the only thing in the room was me. I continued to wait. Something was supposed to happen — Something. But ...  [+]