Joe Mallon 1/25/22 Joe Mallon 1/25/22

The Bog

Finn placed his hand on Michael’s shoulder and squeezed. “I wish there was another way, Michael. I do. But this is best for you. And us, o’course. A hunter best hunts alone. You’ll be a better man for it when ye come home.”

Guest User 1/20/22 Guest User 1/20/22

Based On A True Feeling

Now something has broken, and her vision is brand new and it feels amazing. Little more than a week past eighteen and really in her own skin for the first time. Like he gave her something that would always be hers.

This is the first time she has let herself look in the mirror since then.

Joe Mallon 1/9/22 Joe Mallon 1/9/22

The Coffee Shop

“You know.” The stranger winked. “I mean, what if you pissed someone off bad. I mean really bad. And they wanted it taken care of? In a coffee shop? Say, this one? At,” he looked at his watch, then looked up smiling. “One o’clock and thirty-five seconds.” He laughed. “And the guy to do it was supposed to be me? Weird, huh?”

Guest User 12/2/21 Guest User 12/2/21

Christmas, Baby.

The next morning at the hospital nursery Kitty approached her premature grandson for the first time. The nurse allowed her to hold him and he yawned with a power which awed her. Suddenly there was something small showing its strength by pushing against her grasp. Choosing her.

Guest User 11/28/21 Guest User 11/28/21

Between Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Mom finishes her kung pow chicken and finds no fortune in the cookie. Then the labor pains kick in all over her like an other worldly chain reaction of earthquakes that will not be stopped. She gives birth right there in the food court.

Guest User 11/18/21 Guest User 11/18/21

The Destroyed Object Is Resurrected - A Prosepoem

I feel better at home, though when I go into the kitchen the staff have turned into simian creatures. Not quite human, not quite monkey. Something gleefully in between, well-dressed as ever.

Paul Teodo 11/16/21 Paul Teodo 11/16/21

Blink

He blinked again. His cheek no longer soothed by the wooden floor beneath it. A wisp of intrusive dust drifted towards him, settling on his lashes. A laborious blink, his only remedy, then another, the particle unmoving.

Paul Teodo 11/13/21 Paul Teodo 11/13/21

Rats

His mother worked two jobs. One was good, and one was bad. The good one, she said, was good because people left her alone.

Wayne Lerner 11/7/21 Wayne Lerner 11/7/21

The Beginning?

How did we get here? Was it a Supreme Being or an intelligence which created the universe with all of its rules?

Maybe both?

Don Hall 10/31/21 Don Hall 10/31/21

Cheez Slyces

It seemed like a good idea—or maybe a funny idea—at the time but this was going sideways fast.

Jenni Thurston 10/20/21 Jenni Thurston 10/20/21

Bog Bodies

In ancient times, people were sacrificed to the bog. Now, the souls trapped within bog demand more sacrifices. And if they don’t get them, they will rise, and they will find souls themselves.

Don Hall 10/9/21 Don Hall 10/9/21

Boner

When the pandemic hit, the world crashed. Lockdowns, quarantines, masks. Stay-at-home orders. It was nuts. It affected everyone's business, their mental health, and, most important, Ted's dick.

Wayne Lerner 10/5/21 Wayne Lerner 10/5/21

Keeping The Faith—Part 2

The massive Gothic structure appeared behind the trees as they drove up the quarter mile private roadway. Five stories tall and taking up half of the three acre property just south of the park, the mansion was an imposing sight.

Paul Teodo 10/3/21 Paul Teodo 10/3/21

The Ballerino

“Change the goddamn ballet recital just for you?” Her voice rose. She thrust her hip sideways and firmly planted a hand on it. “Johnny, that’s how you operate! Change it for me.” Melinda turned and walked out of the room. “Jesus Christ.” The door slammed behind her.

Wayne Lerner 9/28/21 Wayne Lerner 9/28/21

Keeping The Faith

Blind adherence to tradition does not help one make new friends. Faith in the goodness of people may stem that tide.

Guest User 9/26/21 Guest User 9/26/21

Red Brick Door - A Fiction

A yellow jail issue scrub shirt, her hands, the deft fingers lithe with clean short nails, were cuffed in front- my mind recalled a christ-like figure.

Guest User 9/12/21 Guest User 9/12/21

Innocence Ends in Avondale - A Chicago Story

That’s it. That word, it pulls up like a tub stopper in her, letting all the old dirty waters drain out. It upsets her deep in her gut where she buries her heart. The Elston house feels disgusting, suddenly, as if she’s been swallowed by a beast. Doomed to dwell in a place where “utopia” is the exact furthest thing from reality.

Paul Teodo 9/7/21 Paul Teodo 9/7/21

The Clincher

At first the team was just a bunch of burnt-out baseball guys looking for a reason to get out of the house. Then it got serious. The trophies, the fights, the bets. Sixteen-inch no-mitt softball became an obsession. Nothing got in the way. That’s how it went when guys had too much of what they didn’t want in life.

Don Hall 9/5/21 Don Hall 9/5/21

Fair is Fair

"Father?"

The old man sitting on the bench was eating pistachio nuts and carefully placing the shells in a ball cap to his left. He looked Jack's way.

"Ah! Jack. Not any more. Not in long time."

Wayne Lerner 8/17/21 Wayne Lerner 8/17/21

The First Call

The ringing of the phone reverberated throughout the office. You can tell who’s calling by the ring, whether it’s a good call or one which foretells disaster. The phone knows. Its voice sends you a message. You have to be smart enough, open enough, to understand its language.