Fiction
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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
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Talent
by Paul Hostovsky He played that thing all the time: waking, sleeping, walking, riding his bike, reclining in the bathtub fully clothed, where the acoustics were the best, he said. And in the backseat of the family Buick when we were trying to have a conversation up front. It was annoying. If we turned the Continue reading
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Colour
by Kristi Ross Another day in this northern city. Even at noon the light is too diffuse to cast a shadow. For months this grey-brown winter has soaked into her skin, layering loneliness and sadness, conjuring up memories of loss. When she thinks of him, the planes of his face and the set of his Continue reading
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Leaving a Wake
by Lori Erickson The drone of well over a hundred voices alive with muffled energy skirmished with a warbled recording of “Amazing Grace.” Finely tailored adults mingled and chatted in small clusters around the large hall. Jewelry sparkled; perfume sometimes danced with, sometimes collided with the aroma of freshly cut flowers. An occasional laugh leapt Continue reading
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A Flower, Not a Tree
by Huina Zheng Lin SongBai is a girl, but her name always makes people think she’s a boy. Lin means forest, Song is pine, and Bai is cypress. A fortune teller once said she lacked the wood element, so her parents named her this. She didn’t like it. Her parents tried to comfort her: pine Continue reading
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Cursed Candy
by Jaron Weidner She knew it was wrong. She knew she could get in terrible trouble, but Emily could not stop thinking about the giant bag of candy that her mother had left on the kitchen table. Her eyes glimmered from the moonlight that came through the window above the sink, but her vision was Continue reading
January House Literary Journal 