Ficton
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Somebody, Please Think of the Children
by Rebecca Klassen I haven’t seen him since he was a boy, and even though he has his back to me, I recognize him in my headlights. It’s his oblong head and right-angle-ears that ring familiar. He staggers from alcohol, lurching off the end of the pavement onto the country lane. The national speed limit… Continue reading
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line and sinker
by Heather Emmanuel You slide pescatarian into the conversation like it’s your word to claim. “When it counts,” you say, scanning the menu. Across the table, in a crisp button-down and cuffed sleeves, she doesn’t bother pretending to read hers. “And when does it count?” The intensity of her slightly downturned eyes unnerves you. Her… Continue reading
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Dry
by Chila Woychik It was the farthest north they had ever been. And time was all Maddie and Saul had left. Hours awash in Maddie’s own thoughts, the strangest memories crept in at even the hint of a connection: an oak tree with a split trunk reminded her of climbing a tree in her back… Continue reading
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Notes From the Frontier
by Benjamin Patterson The year was coming to a close, but it hadn’t closed, right at that moment when the scales shift and autumn begins to tip into winter (think grayscale images, shavings of frost sticking to spent grasses). Car ignitions sputtered. Every few months, a woman, or an occasional man, claimed to be a… Continue reading
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Concession
by Robert Schiff The speech is drafted—brief, polite, gracious. Tradition calls for writing two. One for victory. The other for this. Two are not necessary tonight. Twenty five years ago: The last Fall practice wrapped. Jordan packed up gear. That was the freshmen’s job. Coach coming over. Jordan saw and walked the other direction. Coach… Continue reading
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Directive 23
by Jack Tisdale Belknap House. The Abner L’Argent Psychic College for Pantisocracy, Aspheterism, Benevolence, and Civil Liberty DE DESPERATIONE, FORTITUDO Staff Directive 23, October 5. From: Director Barringwell Re: Certain Items. Certain items have been brought to my attention. I address them here in no particular order. Were you therefore to read this from the… Continue reading
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Mom’s Mom’s Mom’s Music Box
by Nora Esme Wagner Mom’s music box is being auctioned off on eBay. Not her exact one—that disappeared with her. Delia and I upended the entire house, opening air vents, the false back board in her closet, the paint cans left in the garage from when she decided to paint all the walls lemon. She… Continue reading
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We, the Spiders
by Jaclyn Port The spider appeared late Wednesday night, or before dawn Thursday morning. None of us knew the exact time, as we were all getting our recommended six-to-eight hours of sleep or finishing our homework. We only saw segments of it as we arrived at The School: three legs each on Keyuan Road and… Continue reading
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Bystander
by Mary Kate Williams As a novelist, with quite a robust imagination, I never expected the mob to be involved in the success or demise of my literary art piece novel. But here we are. “Thanks again,” I trill, exiting the nail salon feeling truly pampered. Some women do this every week; how do they… Continue reading
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A Choice of Living
by Christina Fong It’s the kind of spring day that permeates all conversation until it can’t be talked about anymore and must simply be enjoyed. The warm temperatures promise to stay for good this time, and with that promise, all the winter frost sitting heavy on everyone’s shoulders gradually drips away. The air smells sweet… Continue reading
January House Literary Journal 