Rounds

By Chris Toto Zaremba I left the market slowly walking behind a stooped over elderly man.I teased, "Lets get a move on here!"He stopped, straightened out and turned to me with a chuckle,"At 92, I don't move too fast!"We ended up talking for over an hour. He was doing his 'rounds' he told me: to …

Forgiven

By Jim Woessner Even from a distance, I could feel the fear rising within me like mercury in a thermometer. Not that the dog was necessarily mean. I couldn’t tell from a hundred feet away. It just looked mean. And although it was on a leash, it wasn’t a particularly short leash. The dog could …

Lithium

By Jim Bates My phone rang and I checked the screen. It was Mom. I answered, slightly peeved, “What?” I was in the middle of a wicked game of Fortnite with three other guys I’d met online, and I might have been a little short with her. Her response told I had been, and she …

Wonderland

By Steve Carr Joe pushed the screen door open with his wheelchair footrests and wheeled out onto the porch. With creaking hinges, the door slowly closed behind him as he stopped at the porch railing. The edges of the lightweight quilt around his shoulders flapped in the cold wind. He pulled it tight around him, …

Counting Crow

By Yash Seyedbagheri Crows gather on the frozen pond, pecking at the ice. Dinnertime. They peck left and right, cawing, beaks circling their domain. I clutch hole-ridden mittens, coldness rushing. My sister Nan waits, wanting to know if I found any coins today. Or dollar bills. Legs wobble. The sky shimmers pale blue and white, …

One Chance

By Medha Godbole Singh It was a foggy morning in her adopted home, Mumbai, as Anisha, a 30-something art design professional, looked out of her bedroom window. The weather was on the cooler side, a bit unlike experienced usually in the maximum city. She had woken up later than usual after a good night’s sleep. …

A Sigh of Relief

By Nancy Machlis Rechtman Leona sighed.  It was the morning of Cassie’s high school graduation and Leona couldn’t have been prouder.  Her beautiful daughter was about to finish high school as valedictorian of her class and was busy putting the finishing touches on her speech.  Leona peeked in Cassie’s room and saw her in her …

Memories of Lilies

By Hayley Reese Chow The fresh lilies on the table are from Mom, but they remind me of him, of course. After ten years, they shouldn’t, but my disobedient thoughts wander anyway. Maybe it’s the social distancing, or the fact that I haven’t dated in… I honestly can’t remember, but I open my laptop and …

Conned

By James Dunn Second Lieutenant James Dawson made his way through the Happy Hour crowd at the Charleston Air Force Base Officer’s Club bar and ordered a glass of white wine. After he took a sip his friend and squadron mate, First Lieutenant John Tamkun came up from behind and nudged his arm. “Glad you …

A Bowl of Tum Yum Soup

By Tabassum Tahmina Shagufta Hussein While looking at her regular stray cat friends, Nivi felt so special today. All she can recall from her 14 years of life is a dispute between parents, her grandparent's targeted hostility, and being treated like a second class. No one has ever made her special. She never knew how …