Ruthie
byWhen the ambulance pulls away with her mother tucked inside, Ruthie blinks in sync with its flashing lights. Her eyes widen as her pupils curl up in little balls. She…
Stories
The Formation of Igneous Rock
by1. Erakuyó Buses drop you off at the closest village. You won’t see the volcano’s spitting peak through the tree crowns ahead, but you will hear the thrumming that sprawls…
Gravitas
byThey tell me later that the gray suit saw me and beelined across the plaza, one arm swinging like a Russian solider, the other weighted down by the cup of…
The Cowards’ Line
byJohn Wilkes Booth and Pat Garrett and Robert Ford rode a ghost train through my living room every night. The first time it came was a week after I moved…
A Great Rain
byBailey Cunningham was Martin’s friend more than mine and it was early October when I first heard what happened to him. I’d been waiting for the school bus wearing my…
Falling, Flying
byI’m through the heavy door and across the rooftop. I step to the ledge. Don’t look down, I tell myself. It’s a long way down. A woman’s voice, mellifluous in…
A Clean, Buttery Finish
byCharlotte took the elevator to the fifteenth floor. Johnny’s place. Johnny was a professional cuddler who’d burned out from too much spooning and neck nuzzling and was taking a break,…
God Haunting
by1. In the beginning man created me in his own image. Male, he created me. Surprise, surprise. And I say “man,” but what I really mean is a boy. In…
Viper // Víbora
byTranslated from Spanish by Allison A. deFreese Code name: Margueritte With short strokes, the man moves his arms to float in the brown water. The current can carry…
Timeshares
byWhen Nora’s children were children, she never permitted them to go to the zoo. She hated seeing animals in small spaces, away from their people, even if it was for…