Short Short

Strutters' Ball by Barry Basden Cleaning out my father's things I found an old black and white photo, one I'd never seen before. Hidden away all these years.The photo was taken in some kind of hall, a gentlemen's club perhaps. Joyless carpet, somber wainscoting, a small mirror propped on its rail. Patterned wallpaper and two nondescript paintings flanking a pendulum … [Read more...] about Strutters’ Ball by Barry Basden

Nobody Shall Sleep By T. Dem I’m lying down on the bed. Naked. Carefree. One hand thrown carelessly behind my head propping me up. The other playing with my belly button or any small indent on my skin within a comfortable radius. I don’t even notice the neuroticism. In this corner of the world, in this cove of the Montenegrin coastline, the sunsets is out of this world. Like … [Read more...] about Nobody Shall Sleep By T. Dem

Thief by Kristy GherloneI watch them together, though I’m supposed to be in my room. They’re sitting too close. Cigarette smoke trails in front of my eyes as I sit huddled in the corner. They talk to each other like they’re good friends, but I don’t know the woman with my father. She’s pretty and young, but there’s something ugly about her too.He faces her as he sits … [Read more...] about Thief by Kristy Gherlone

A Quick Twist by Patrick Hanford I'm sitting in a bar, sipping a beer, wondering if she's going with me tonight. The door bangs open, a man with a gun. “You bitch,” he yells. The last thing I see, a barrel pointed at me. I waken with a bright light in my face. “Turn it off,” I say. He has a blade, it glimmers from the light above. He shoves it in the side of my … [Read more...] about A Quick Twist by Patrick Hanford

Them By Meg Pokrass You would hate it if you knew how many times I apply lipstick now that you're gone. I'm putting it on, like, every five minutes to get through the next fifteen, though I know they use fish scales to make it, and it's like killing fish to put on lipstick for no reason. Nobody usually sees my champagne-grape stained lips except myself, and two adorable … [Read more...] about Them By Meg Pokrass

Crazy by T. E. CowellShe said, “This is crazy.” She looked at me. “Isn’t this crazy?” I shrugged. I thought that, sure, maybe it was a little crazy. But I thought it was exciting, too. Crazy or not, I thought it might be crazier if we parted ways and never saw each other again. I was about to say something to this effect when she said, “I mean, we don’t even know each … [Read more...] about Crazy by T. E. Cowell

Who/Whom? by David Lohrey “For all I know he’s fucking you, too.” These are words to remember. This bit of bile sits on my mind like a mustard stain on one of my brand new dress shirts. Shit. Try getting that out. Yes, these are words spoken to me by a woman I once called my friend. She was the kind of woman – you’ve met them – who says things without thinking, like a dog … [Read more...] about Who/Whom? by David Lohrey

Gone but Not Forgotten by Carol M. Gore He looked good for a dead guy. Like himself and yet somehow not. I can itemize the differences as if it were yesterday.(1) His eyes were closed, lids lowered like window shades, a reprieve finally from that cold stare, like an eagle eyeing its prey.(2) He was silent, his lips sealed in a thin line, trapping within judgments … [Read more...] about Gone but Not Forgotten by Carol M. Gore

Supper by Manuel Martin While the apartment phone rings over and over, the couple cooks awkwardly trying not to involve eye contact with each other. Her shinny blue eyes are fixed on the onion she is chopping, which cause her to sniff once in a while. The tall skinny man is pulling a platter of baked veggies out of the oven which burned his fore arm while doing so. He let go … [Read more...] about Supper by Manuel Martin

Nurtured by robert c. radziejewski             I was assembled anonymously according to traditions. I fail to realize my identity. My memory is cyclically deleted. I’m a symbiotic specialized adaption for systematic kinetic force. I have been eaten and I’ve consumed anything radiating energy forces.My life code nurtures my reactions influencing my character. I had been … [Read more...] about Nurtured by robert c. radziejewski

In Good Hands by Bernadine Lortis  “Here, give her to me. I’ll take her.”A nurse snatches my baby at the threshold as though I’m a delivering a bundle of laundry. Her statement, brusque, devoid of emotion, and her manner, business-like. This woman is obviously in charge.“Her name?” She quizzes but doesn’t look up. “Her name, Mrs. Bloom?” she … [Read more...] about In Good Hands by Bernadine Lortis

The Prisoner by Emily Atkinson-DaltonI cradled her beautiful face in my hands. Her big blue eyes looked up at me and her smile shined radiantlywith the glowing light bouncing off her white teeth. We looked at each other for a while; admiring one another silently, as my eyes traced the perfect outline of her features. I brushed her hair back and stroked her cold cheek with … [Read more...] about The Prisoner by Emily Atkinson-Dalton

What They Knew by Eric Dreyer SmithMrs. Petersen knew what they were doing up the road. Mr. Baum had a good idea, too. He was the town baker and although he worked a lot he still heard the rumors. Then the people who worked up the street began ordering bread from him. He resisted hearing the rumours firsthand as fact from the people who worked there, but soon realized that … [Read more...] about What They Knew by Eric Dreyer Smith

Snapchat by Sean Butler It was dusk and Cuervo paced around the apartment, the sound of his nails clicking across the floor marking time with the ticking of the clock on the mantelpiece. The dog didn’t usually pace, but he seemed nervous, and Jonas thought that he was increasingly anxious because of the storm. He looked up from his cell to watch the dog and wondered if he … [Read more...] about Snapchat by Sean Butler

The Dress by Bruce LevineClaudine Bucknell set up her easel in what would have been the shadow of the north-west leg of the Washington Square Arch if there could have been a shadow at noon on the north side of the Arch. It was a beautiful Sunday in June with the temperature just right and a gentle breeze drifting from the Hudson River to bring out the local residents, … [Read more...] about The Dress by Bruce Levine

Wreckage by Holden Lyric She always loves the smell of her mother's freshly baked apple pie. She never dares eat it, though. She always appreciates the smell of food more than the taste. Just the thought of eating makes her stomach ache like a battle wound.Every night at dinner time she sits down at the table with her mother and father. Her dad blesses the food and her … [Read more...] about Wreckage by Holden Lyric

Black Black by Scott McClelland Last thing I remember was her arm being out the window. We was racing down the 101, outside Ventura, sun disappearing over her shoulder. She handed me the bottle, and give me that bourbon smile a hers. A smile like that, breath a whiskey, barefoot ankles crisscrossed on the dash, it'll grip you. So she smiled and stuck her arm out the window. … [Read more...] about Black Black by Scott McClelland

Crime Does Pay by Sue JenningsJosiah R. Sutcliff made his fortune stealing the mineral wealth of California and Nevada in the 1880’s and 1890’s. When Josiah died in 1937, he was one of the richest and loneliest men west of Denver.It was reported on his deathbed Josiah mumbled his wealth was evil money. To spare his children from affluent sin he did not give a penny of … [Read more...] about Crime Does Pay by Sue Jennings

A Face at the Window by Rita Crossley It was on a Wednesday that I first saw it. I was in the garden hanging out the washing when something caught my eye at the house opposite. I looked away, so scared by the image, but that macabre instinct to look once more overrode my fear. There was someone at one of the bedroom windows. I could only see the face, the rest of the body … [Read more...] about A Face at the Window by Rita Crossley

No Escape by Grey Harlowe They started out in the dark. A 4:30 a.m. alarm had gotten them out the door, showered and respectable, in old but clean REI outfits. Leah hated this. Waking up before dawn to travel seventy miles to Portland and camp out for the ‘good’ outlet stores’ sale, so Aiden could get the newest tech toy he wanted, this time, some kind of game system, at a … [Read more...] about No Escape by Grey Harlowe

Behind the Barn with Carol Ann by Donal MahoneyBack in 1957, kissing Carol Ann behind the barn in the middle of a windswept field of Goldenrod with a sudden deer watching was something special, let me tell you. Back then, bobby sox and big barrettes and ponytails were everywhere.Like many farmers, Carol Ann’s father had a console radio in the living room, and every … [Read more...] about Behind the Barn with Carol Ann by Donal Mahoney

The Boat by Robert Knox Though sometimes, whenever we were in town, we took you out from the 'place' and drove you to one of the little beaches on the North Shore, the sand skimpy and yellow, the water placid, and tried to help you remember things."There was a boat...""A boat?""I remember...""Uncle Charlie's?""Or Will's?""It must have belonged to one … [Read more...] about The Boat by Robert Knox

Picking Peaches in Del Rey by Kristopher Paul I went to work by myself that day because my mom was busy crying. The work is a killer. The soft flesh is easily bruised, so they must be picked, and packed, by hand. The fuzz clings to the backs of my hands like wet fabric sheets. It itched like hell, it always does. And it never seems to go away.The last time I went to work … [Read more...] about Picking Peaches in Del Rey by Kristopher Paul

Scotch on the Rocks by Shoshauna Shy I wear want-me red with matching stilettos and the bracelet he brought from Venezuela, the earrings received for a birthday meant to echo my crystalline eyes which must not blur with tears. I caress his wrist (be supportive yet casual), inhale cologne and light perspiration upon his return from another adventure chauffeured to outposts in … [Read more...] about Scotch on the Rocks by Shoshauna Shy

The Photo by M.H.D.S. Dharshanapriya ‘Where is the photo ? Who took it ? Tell me.’My sister’s frenzied voice overhauled the usual screeching and rumbling sound of the traffic outside our house. She was sweating profusely and walking to and fro like a caged animal.Father, mother and I were supposed to be the accused.A deep silent prevailed.‘o.k. I have the … [Read more...] about The Photo by M.H.D.S. Dharshanapriya

The Wife by Ed Nichols Raymond stood at the casket for a long time. It was early in the afternoon and the family would not be back to the funeral home to receive visitors until six o’clock. He reached in and put his hand on her lovely folded hands lying across her chest. She looked so good. He was devastated. He remembered the last time they had made love, and she had said to … [Read more...] about The Wife by Ed Nichols

Zimbabwe Birthday by Nat Parsons My 70th birthday gift from my daughter was a four-day guided tour of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.We did a blissful forty five-minute Zambezi River sunset cruise. The shy hippopotami showed just a wee bit of face. Blowing water at cruisers passing by may have been their personal opinion of those who traverse the water in that style!The … [Read more...] about Zimbabwe Birthday

Virus by Kerry Graham He slid my just-fallen flip-flop back on my foot. I thought, "He treats me like a princess."Still, it surprised me when, his head in my lap, my fingers in his hair, I disclosed my diagnosis, and, gazing at me, he said, "I'm actually even more attracted to you now. You're so honest." Later, his lips hopscotching along my shoulder, neck, nose, mouth … [Read more...] about Virus by Kerry Graham

Mrs. Kedzierski didn’t dig kids by Mike Taylor “What if she finds the body? Oh, man, we should never have buried it there!”This is not a sentence a guy would normally utter over a phone line, especially if he knew Mrs. Kedzierski was listening in.But I was ten years old; the word “consequences” was not to be found in my vocabulary.These were the days of the party … [Read more...] about Mrs. Kedzierski didn’t dig kids by Mike Taylor

If You’re Having Trouble Getting Started by William OlmsteadBern Vega walked through the front door of his tiny bungalow on Brook Street with the words of the writing class instructor resonating in his head: “If you’re having trouble getting started, it might be because you’re overwhelming yourself. Just sit down and write one sentence. No pressure.” It was an epiphany for … [Read more...] about If You’re Having Trouble Getting Started by William Olmstead

The Other Woman by Lana Weinstein The restaurant is crowded and the hum is building as the place quickly fills and the overfilled plates and glasses arrive at the small, closely jammed tables. At the next table, there’s a serious conversation going on, although I can’t quite make out what they’re saying. But he’s talking, and she’s looking sad, and I think to myself, no good … [Read more...] about The Other Woman by Lana Weinstei

The Right Kind by J. Galvin My dad tapped the top of his beer can and turned Tom Petty up louder."Make sure you get the right kind."He eyed me in the passenger seat. I clutched my doll to my chest. I knew the right kind was a carton of cigarettes in the red box and a book of free matches.He swung the Jeep into the parking lot of the corner store. As he smoothed his … [Read more...] about The Right Kind by J. Galvin

A Shock in the Dark by S.K. Naus “Welcome to the Halloween Horror show!” A teen draped in a black cape and matching top hat climbed onto a large headstone situated in the Blackcroft Cemetery and spread his arms wide, beckoning the young people towards him.“Tonight, I will raise the dead for you.”A slew of chuckles filtered through the group.“That’ll be the first … [Read more...] about A Shock in the Dark by S.K. Naus

Under the Bed by Michael Orzechowski My brother used to make fun of me for checking underneath my bed. He would constantly tell me that I was too old, at my 14 years of age, to be doing so and I would hate having to listen to him laugh while I settled my nerves by crawling on the floor and lifting up the skirt of my small twin bed that sat across the room from his.I never … [Read more...] about Under the Bed by Michael Orzechowski

Dusk By Chris GalfordDusk. I can hear them in the walls. The chitter of their legs rattles plaster.Their poison stains the floorboards. My own is still with the fear of it, of the slow wine burn of their drink. They cannot be bated. Everywhere, the traps lay; they ignore them, build new roads into the dust and dark.Mother takes them for the creak of trees in dead … [Read more...] about Dusk By Chris Galford