Kathy, I’m Lost by Scott Nadelson Blame it on Simon & Garfunkel. Bookends was playing in the coffee shop where he stopped most mornings on his way to work, or maybe just Greatest Hits. In either case, those lyrics about laughing on the bus followed by...
Inside the Whale by Caitlin Dwyer I wanted to be wild and allowed to roam. Four months pregnant, I thought that motherhood could not change that instinct for exploration. Then I smelled the bear. Shit-smell filled my nostrils, rich and sour: the third scat we’d seen...
Iftar by Sascha Matuszak I walk alone through the streets listening to spoons and voices. It is iftar time, and I am racing the light down to the beach, where I hope to find my brothers. The music of spoons on dishes is a mercy from God, for without it I’d lose my...
Star Crossed by Maura Stanton The recycle center turned out to be a huge warehouse at the edge of town. As my purchaser walked with me to the office, I noticed big metal bins full of robot parts. One bin seemed to be all heads, hundreds of heads, maybe thousands, some...
Nested Skins by Ben Reed Roger and I were at the beach when the fog came in. We had just finished eating. Everyone on the sand stopped what they were doing to marvel at the density and opacity of the fog, and how quickly the white mist rolled toward us over the water....
Our Squid Mother by E. Ce Miller Our little sister made the discovery that summer. It wasn’t surprising that she would be the first to find out—the only one of us who still climbed into our mother’s lap like Ma was a piece of furniture instead of a woman,...
