Short Fiction

Beneath the Redwood Trees

Rylee Donaldson

A mushroom stood short in a forest full of redwood trees that soared high above the forest floor. Two of the white spots on his red cap opened to reveal his dry eyes, ready to cry but no tears could ... [+]

Short Fiction

Night Lives

Thomas Demazieres

At first, I thought I misheard. I turned around to see to whom these words may be intended, but the person spoke a second time.
« Hello, my life. »
My eyes crossed hers, and it was ... [+]

Short Fiction

Sea Legs

Maggie Dunn

Long before the moon controlled the tides, before Aphrodite rose from her bed of sea foam, before the oceans trembled in fear of the titans, there was Her.
She was a city of sin and glory, deceit ... [+]

Short Fiction

What Was Taken

A.M. Anderson

The ultimate catch of the midsummer day was not a fish of any sort - it was a child. The youngin wriggled at the end of the line, dumbfounding the fisherman who had caught them. Still, of good ... [+]

Short Fiction

To Walk A Mile

Emily Topness

There was a new museum on the corner of Parksby Street. What was most peculiar was that the museum looked ancient already, but signs had not even been put up advertising what was on display inside ... [+]

Short Fiction

Heaven Saves Yours

Ashlee' Catlette

Heaven Saviors was a girl destined for revelation. Orphaned at only 3 days old, Heaven's fate was sealed by the clouds and alien motherships. Her grandparents were visiting to celebrate the birth of ... [+]

Short Fiction

All the Things Left Unsaid

Yilong Peng

When you die, you find yourself in a cross between a mailroom and a public library. Depending on your experiences with those two services while you were alive, you might be inclined to make some snap ... [+]

Short Fiction

Mud Bath

Ryan Seller

I toss my soiled clothes into the sink; I'll deal with them later.
I'm too impatient to wait for the water to get hot, so I hop into the freezing spray.
I shiver.
I'm strong though. I can ... [+]

Short Fiction

Daze

Danny White

I had never felt loneliness like the loneliness I felt in that room. There was nobody else, just me and my thoughts. My terrible, nerve-racking thoughts. And I couldn't go anywhere. My hands were ... [+]

Short Fiction

If Mental Illness Were a Place

Sarah Lindsey

Who are you?
Well, I'm... well my name is Two, actually. It's kind of a long story. Well... I'm broken, you see. That's where my story begins. My brain isn't made like the others. That makes ... [+]

Short Fiction

The Bank of Flesh

Tim Zhou

A couple of miles down the decrepit villages and a few minutes walking along the white gravel path, you will see a weirdly inclined mountain crowned in thick vegetation. If you were to climb to its ... [+]

Short Fiction

For the Love of Aphrodite

Teresa Murphy

Some spend their lives in search of Aphrodite. Day after day they waste their hours seeking a goddess to soothe their weary hearts.
The quest for a perfect Aphrodite is a fruitless one ... [+]

Short Fiction

Residue

Max Carter

They were 40 minutes into their 50-minute session and were still stuck in the same place as when the two started. Taran tugged at their collar while they talked, sweating from nerves and the gradually ... [+]

Short Fiction

The V Word

Lai Wei

The last time I heard the V word was when my dumb friend Will said it in front of my wife. He was coming in to borrow my toolbox and overheard the stupid argument we were having, and of course, being ... [+]

Short Fiction

Cockatoo

Ashley Chang

Grandpa always hated the cockatoos. Called them oversized flying rats, never mind that they were a goddamn national treasure, but nothing came between that old man and his garden. In Iran, he used to ... [+]

Short Fiction

Rust

Kayal Udaiyar

The rain started not soon after the fifth birthday of Zara's daughter. An endless pouring of blood that came from eternally gray skies forced everyone into their homes and afraid for what was to come ... [+]

Short Fiction

There's a Noise in Your Brain

Fritz Ruppert

It was already far too late.
I had never meant to be out here at this hour, but I'd been having trouble sleeping, like all these recent nights. Something about sitting there, awake, in the bed ... [+]

Short Fiction

Pumpkin Pie

Hannah Rose Swenson

Philandros heard the thundering beast before he saw it. He sauntered across the street as if he had all the time in the world, then turned to glance at the bus as it passed a few feet away. Leaves ... [+]