The unemployment office in Happy Valley Mills fronts an abandoned Colonial cemetery. Before 8 A.M. on their check day, lank and plump bodies wait hooked over the cemetery’s iron fence. Behind them, some of the ancient willows, half-hollow themselves, have uprooted Baptist obelisks. Some of their fallen limbs have shivered grave-slabs. At … Continue reading
Category Archives: Fiction 2010
Take Up Serpents — Lisa Harris
The Yankees who came through the 76 Truckstop when Tessie worked there often shared the same racist views as their Southern cousins. They descended across the Mason-Dixon line, eating their way south on cornbread and fried chicken, on barbecue and collards, pecan pie and shortbread. They rose in the morning and continued south, refueling their … Continue reading
Tiger Tiger Burning Bright — Aaron Stypes
Before I left my employment with The Sacramento Zoo, I took the Bengal tiger cub with me. This might sound like a questionable thing for an assistant zookeeper to do, but at the time, I didn’t care: the zoo itself had many questionable policies and procedures, not to mention management of the worst sort. Anyway, … Continue reading
After the Storm — Amanda Axley
After the storm we stood to our ankles in muddy water, and I thought there were fish mouthing at the skin stretched over the bones of my ankles, but they were just dead leaves floating past, tickling my feet like the minnows in Lake Michigan. After the storm my feet sank in the mud, and … Continue reading
The Essay — Mary Pat Musick
My mother fell in love with Africa. She left us for the great plains of Kenya, and she died there. Ms. Ulinsky read aloud that passage from Karen’s essay, and then placed the paper on her desk, gently, as if the document were fragile. Karen wanted the essay to confer an image of her mother … Continue reading
The Bent: The Awakening — rachel kann
Hey, um, it’s May. I’m. Um. I can’t get to the phone. I’m going under. I’m in a world of pain at the moment. Please don’t hate. Or just, whatever, just call me back. Or not. Whatever. It’s just a bad day. Sorry. Um, sorry, whatever. I finish recording, hang up my celly, toss it … Continue reading
Summer of Cats — Taylor Eagan
The sun stretched across the water like a calico, its claws raking across the boardwalk and its fur catching light at every crest. It yawned as the morning rose, opening its mouth wide to reveal a set of delicate teeth. The bulkhead was exposed as the tide shifted. “Can I help you?” Alan drew his … Continue reading
The Disappearing — Wendy Fox
The New Year’s after I lost my job in the registrar’s office at the university, my husband, Julian, and I got a sitter for our six-year-old daughter. I always worried about holiday babysitters: what kind of teenager doesn’t have anywhere to be on New Year’s, and do I want to leave my daughter with her? … Continue reading
Proof — Sharon E. Trotter
The night before my marriage ended, I drove home in a terrible fog. I don’t mean a muddled state of mind, though that would be true. I mean fog. A thick shroud that forced me to creep along the A14 at less than 10 miles an hour. My lights were worthless. They merely illuminated the … Continue reading
Recovery — M. Eileen Cronin
A man in a gray suit with a snappy red tie shook Dean Price’s shoulder, waking him from a dream about being Bob Dylan’s son. Dean reluctantly opened one eye; blue eyes blinked back at him. “I’m taking you to rehab,” said the white-haired man. He added, apologetically, “Court order.” Dean’s hand dangled over a … Continue reading
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