A New Kind of Literary Pulse

Once upon a time there lived a beautiful princess in a beautiful castle. She was kind and generous and everybody loved her.
In that same palace lived a lowly servant. The servant longed to be ... [+]

The phone buzzed twenty-six times on my bedside table. Moaning, I turned my aching body and grabbed the phone with my uninjured hand.
"John?" a shrill voice demanded.
"Hey Natalie."
"Where ... [+]

It's 3AM and you're there again. You're always there, every day, for the past 3 years, 2ꟷ6AM unfailingly. The stale air of the attic settles uncomfortably all around you, as the only intelligible ... [+]

Once upon a time, there was a princess called Belleza. The princess was gorgeous, with her long dark hair, large topaz eyes, and warm honey skin. She always wore the most extravagant clothes to ... [+]

You really didn't have to react that way. You really didn't have to gaze at my face with such an air of disgust, as if I was nothing more than a crushed worm glued to the sole of your shoe. Your eyes ... [+]

By the time she could hear the front door click shut, she was already shrugging off her coat and tossing the discarded garment on one of the kitchen barstools. It was admittedly too hot out for a ... [+]

My lab was quiet. Fluorescent ceiling lights reflected sharply in the brilliant shine of a brass oil lamp resting among glass flasks and stir plates on a black countertop in front of me. Wearing dark ... [+]

For the past nine Tuesdays, Libby had spent the afternoon at Jenny's Gymnastics Club, which was held in an old warehouse by the local dump. Jenny's was always too bright and too cold, and big box fans ... [+]

I: The GENIE application complies with IPP regulation 33.2, which states that it must execute all commands put to it, whether desired or undesired by the user.
II: GENIE comes pre-packaged in a ... [+]

Orange streetlights dip in and out of view through the tinted windows in a car I've never seen before. The vehicle vibrates with the fervor of a falcon, churning with effort along the long black ... [+]

Sometimes, I have trouble understanding people. It is not that I hate them, or even that I think I am better than they are. I just do not know why they do the things they do. I worked at bar once ... [+]

My wife and I share everything. It's one of the many joys of marriage.
We share a name. Not just one but all three. We were both Emma to begin with. Once we were married, I took her last name out ... [+]

The vermouth weighed heavy in his hand.
"Honey, help me with my dress."
A cascade of silver teeth interlocked. His fingers grazed over the nape of her neck. Lingering for a moment, he ... [+]

A hand emerged from the darkness and placed a steaming mug—Greg's favorite mug—on the table.
"Drink."
"What is this?" Greg demanded, starting to rise from his chair. "You can't—"
He'd barely ... [+]

Once again, I found myself seated under the shade of the imposing stone structure of the train station. Once again, I saw a couple hundreds of people, all moving here and there, all of them looking ... [+]

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 ... [+]

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 ... [+]

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 ... [+]