A New Kind of Literary Pulse

I do not possess a witch's wit, the wise man's words, nor the taleteller's tongue, but I must attempt to honor the spirits who were with me this evening and tell you my story. It starts, as most ... [+]

      Once in a blue moon, the universe conspires to weave a tale so enchanting that it defies the ordinary rhythms of life. In the heart of 2024, a year marked by both tumult and triumph, there ... [+]

They sent us to another city with the same objective: push them back. Aachen, September 1944. They said something about taking the first bit of German land, but I couldn't have cared less. I just ... [+]

The sun hung low, its molten rays bleeding into the ocean, transforming the sea into a tapestry of gold and fire. Daedalus, the master craftsman, stood on the rocky cliffside, his eyes heavy with ... [+]

There it was.   That lipstick tube, lying in the trashcan. Its hot pink hue, crisscrossed with glitter and promises of "100% AQUA HYDRATION". Maybe its owner had forgotten it in a rush. One thing ... [+]

Light spasmed on the lake as the boys below churned it with their limbs and laughed, loud and urgent. It was the middle of August. Looking down from the cliff's edge, the surface of the water seemed ... [+]

Nothing manly about a boy like me.    Deep in the Georgian plains, a man makes his own fate, with nothing but his two hands. My first memories were riding in the back of the red station wagon ... [+]

Evelyn had always been fascinated by the intricate workings of clocks. As a child, she would spend hours in her grandfather's workshop, watching him repair timepieces with steady hands and unwavering ... [+]

Lucy looked towards her Captain only to find him keeled over the side of the deck bringing up the contents of his stomach. The nearly imperceptible sigh that escaped her lips was the only indication ... [+]

The professor stared deeply into the foam of her coffee and only saw hieroglyphs. 
That little swirl of chocolate she had added to the mocha concoction sort of looked like an ankh, didn't it ... [+]

"The Hapsburgs? Bah, who'd want to paint their ugly mugs, what with their inbred chins! Or perhaps you thought I'd paint Adonis, or David bathing beside Bathsheba, complete with glistening skin and ... [+]

The artifacts were discovered forty years ago by a mountaineering expedition, but came to the attention of our geology department only recently. The mountaineers were part of a multinational ... [+]

      It's 11:54 when we leave the party.        I have to drag her away; she's tipsy from sneaking sips of my parents' champagne and doesn't see the need to rush. I can't judge her—I'm ... [+]

Most people think ghosts only come out at night. They'd be wrong.  A kid tripped along the path, about five years old, chasing a chipmunk. Nobody called out for him to stop or be careful. Indeed ... [+]

"Shoot!"
The blast echoes across the field. 
I watch from behind a grimy water pump. For days, I have been watching, never daring to go beyond. The air smells like sweat and hangs heavy ove ... [+]

When Prince Hubert stepped into this murky town, he couldn't fathom who would travel across the vastness of the empire for a mere festival. Barren streets — lamenting the beating sun — and one ... [+]

We were walking together, the three of us, the shape we made lurching clumsily to and fro on the concrete as our glances flicked back and forward between our faces; asking, answering, nodding ... [+]

The crests and troughs of the night were already beating along the shore. Oh, how badly she wished to be released from Rickshaw! Up there, on the rocky cliff dotted with pink salt sand and red paint ... [+]