End of the World Sale

By Mitchell Waldman That's what the sign says: END OF THE WORLD SALE. Right on the front door of this little variety shop called "Nick's and Knacks," squeezed between a laundromat and a pharmacy on the strip at the edge of the continent, in Cocoa Beach. Jack and Dana walk in, thinking it’s a joke. …

Dante’s Circles

By Marc Carver It scares me how much life goes around and around in a circle. You live it once then years later the exact same thing happens again. And you react to it in exactly the same way. It is almost as if you are powerless against yourself. Who you are never goes away. …

Losing Friends

By Victor Schwartzman Earnest stood on the edge of a cliff. He hated losing friends. People came and went. He hated losing connections. He hated losing people. Casual friends dropped out as casually as they dropped in. Some were charming and he missed them. Those losses caused some pain. People he’d known for years was …

Death is Symphony of Life

By Dr. Imbesat Syed I saw beauty in death, I saw liberation in death. I felt breath in death, I saw vision in death. I heard symphonies in death, I touched life in death, For death completes life and births life. Death is the ultimate reward, Death is the ultimate destiny. Death gives life, meaning, …

Ripples

By Miss Kay  Master of arts. His art.  Holding no brush, painting the most beautiful pictures. Sights, scents and sounds come alive with his words. Pictures in the books we read are motion pictures. Each weaved together. Turned pages, turned a story.  Mr Adera. His sleeves always turned up. When he laughed, his belly danced …

Academy Classics: O Tannenbaum

By Thomas Page The tree sort of slumped over. Ornaments scattered all over the ground. On the way down, the tree took out several pictures on the mantle. The ground was covered in broken glass, clay, and porcelain. Their dog, Sparkles, was trying to eat the remains of a surfing Santa. “Well, I’ll get some …

Desert Wind

By Jim Bates Dave was grateful for the final emotional push as he clamored up and over the edge of Lizard Peak onto the top, a large flat area.  "Thanks, man," he said to Lyle, his life companion for the last forty years. He was nearly out of breath."I needed that." Lyle was also his …

Makeup

By Jegadeesh Kumar Vijayalakshmi alias Vj showered, dried her hair, brushed away the thought of having a ponytail and decided to keep a loose hair style. With larger earrings, it’d look graceful if the hair overflowed the ears. She scanned her image in the mirror. The hair was straight, shiny and bubbly. Yatra’s hair was …

Good Job

By Abe Margel It was the kind of hot and humid day in June that made Toronto feel like Miami. On the scorching sidewalk women in summer dresses and men in uncomfortable suits shuffled through a pair of wide wooden doors leading into the convocation hall. Inside the air-conditioned building a happy crowd was assembling. …

Jill & the Mountain

By Nancy Lou Henderson Jill turned onto the dirt road that led to the house. Looking out of the car’s windshield, she could see the house up ahead and the towering Mountain that stood behind it. Stopping the vehicle for a moment, Jill slowly inhaled as she took in the breathtaking sight in front of …