Welcome to the ninth Creative Perspective Challenge. Time’s running out; there are only three left after this one. Join in before it ends. All you have to do is write a flash fiction story or a poem based on this image, and post it on your blog. Then leave me the link below in the … Continue reading "#CreativePerspectiveChallenge Nine #flashfiction #poetry #fantasy #writingcommunity"| Author D.L. Finn
Story idea generators can be just what you need to feel inspired enough to complete your next piece or to begin that novel you have been dreaming about writing for years.| JournalBuddies.com
Take a look at these 10 short story ideas. You'll also see advice on how to write a short and a breakdown of a very famous 6-word short story.| JournalBuddies.com
“One of These Days” by Gabriel García Márquez translated by J.S. Bernstein Monday dawned warm and rainless. Aurelio Escovar, a dentist without a degree, and a very early riser, opened his office at six. He took some false teeth, still mounted in their plaster mold, out of the glass ease and put on the table… Continue reading “One of These Days” — Gabriel García Márquez→| Biblioklept
Want to get new excerpts, musings, and more from The Bibliophile right away? Sign up for our weekly online newsletter here! *** Elise Levine’s Big of You comes out next Tuesday, September 9 in Canada. […] The post The Bibliophile: “Arnhem” appeared first on Biblioasis.| Biblioasis
The gull lifted her wing and winced: the size of an eye, the wound was red and weeping. Inhaling deeply, she blinked and stretched out a leg. It was early morning, the town still and quiet. Across the rooftops the sun was rising, and the ferris wheel glistened in the yolk-orange light. This is happening, she told herself. Closing her eyes, she attempted to relieve the tightness in her chest, to bring lightness to her breathing, but then a mob of cawing crows swooped down beside her.| The Stinging Fly
Lisa @ANZ LitLovers is hosting the inaugural Short Story September where we are encouraged to ‘discover short story collections that are good to read.’ In more recent times I have been reading short story collections very, very slowly as I try to savour each individual story, but the focus of this month is on the collection … Continue reading Short Story September| This Reading Life
We are delighted to announce that Tony Tulathimutte has chosen the winners of our 2025 American Short(er) Fiction Contest. Thank you to our judge and to everyone who submitted—it is always inspiring to read your work. Congratulations to the winners! The post Announcing the Winners of the 2025 American Short(er) Fiction Prize first appeared on American Short Fiction. The post Announcing the Winners of the 2025 American Short(er) Fiction Prize appeared first on American Short Fiction.| American Short Fiction
When our house burnt to the ground, the thing I remember most was standing in the rain, praying it would put out the flames. Ever since, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with summer rains. As a ki…| Helping You To Succeed
by Daniel Crépault “Zagosian Holographics, my name is Sam. How may I assist you today?” “You’re not one of those damned bots, are you?” a gruff voice asked through the phone. “No, sir, thank God.” Sometimes, a small lie was necessary to put customers at ease. “May I get your name before we proceed?” “It’s […]| The Lit Nerds
My daddy didn’t teach me how to hold my keys between my knuckles or scare off a cat-caller. Coming from the country, I never had to worry about them; strange men didn’t make a habit of lurking out in our woods. We did have chickens, though, and they were high on the menu for a lot of mean critters. So, my daddy saw it fit that my self defense lessons consisted of which color of bear to run from, which snake bites will send you to the hospital, and how to fight off a coyote. Thumb in the e...| The Bookends Review
It’s mid-May, and after a long slog of last-minute client requests and petty politics in the office, tax season is finally over. Tomorrow is my chance to fly away to a five-day vacation with no schedule and no responsibilities. Double tall mocha in hand (including whipped cream), I find my gate and practically dance down the concourse to board a late morning non-stop, Seattle to Philly. Tonight, I’ll meet my friend Louise and after visiting overnight with her husband and twins, the two of...| The Bookends Review
Chapter 6 – Part 1 Chapter 5 – Part 4 Chapter 5 – Part 3 Chapter 5 – Part 2 Chapter 5 – Part 1 Chapter 4 – Part 2 Chapter 4 – Part 1 Chapter 3 – Part 2...| Postcards from the Age of Reason
Chapter 5 – Part 4 Chapter 5 – Part 3| Postcards from the Age of Reason
THE BLOOD STAINED PAVEMENT| Fanda Classiclit
“The Graves of Saint Paul” by Michael L. Utley My mother lay in the ground at my feet beneath sun-bleached summer grass and faded plastic flowers and a headstone I hadn’t seen for nearly ten …| Hotel by Masticadores
The soccer field was a miracle, an oval of fenced-in grass behind a middle school, where she could train her new small dog, play with it until it trusted her, understood their togetherness. She hop…| Okay Donkey
Image Credit; Eveling Salazar @ Unsplash Image Credit; Hirz Maulana @ Unsplash The machine was never meant to feel.It was built for obedience and function – a silent servant in a noisy world.…| And Miles to go before I sleep...
Gregor Montgomery, she told me, was a man of such standing, of such unimpeachable gravitas, that no matter the location of a party, he was surely known by at least two attendees in any given room at any given time before his arrival, such had his legend spread. All who had heard of this icon, … Continue reading "The Gregor Montgomery"| The Stinging Fly
Alyosha was the younger brother. He was called the Pot, because his mother had once sent him with a pot of milk to the deacon’s wife, and he had stumbled against something and broken it. His mother had beaten him, and the children had teased him. Since then he was nicknamed the Pot. I was … Continue reading Alyosha the Pot | Leo Tolstoy #shortstory| This Reading Life
| Rehana Sulthana | July 2025 | Short Story | A room. A mat. A bowl. A meaty affair. I have been staring at it...| MeanPepperVine
by Allison Bradley I’m pretty sure it was the $40 bottle of wine. Of all the miscellaneous Saturday afternoon items on my section of the grocery conveyor belt, it was when she scanned the wine that…| The Lit Nerds
After a record-breaking season of rain, the five-year mega drought in California was over. Atmospheric rivers and bomb cyclones rolled inland, brought steel gray skies, charcoal clouds, and torrents of water. Snow wrapped mountaintops, and for a brief moment, it seemed all would be well. But the relentless sun grew hotter than ever before. The snow melted and the streams, rivers, and waterfalls gushed to the valley below. And there emerged a ghost lake, Tulare Lake, onc...| The Bookends Review
It would be love after a few sights. Last Tuesday, she caught my eye again, and I caught hers back. I’ll probably ask her to prom – betraying the pact made with my two closest friends, to go together rather than with dates – but I need the confirmatory third or fourth sight of her. Then I’ll tell her that I fancy her. With the frenzy of two months before prom dominating classroom and corridor conversation, our minds are occupied. We’re unusually busy. Much to our teachers’ dismay,...| The Bookends Review
My mother died of a massive stroke, but she swears she didn’t. Dropped down dead right there at the breakfast buffet, then climbed back up to her feet—pardon me, she said to the coveralled man behi…| Okay Donkey
In this interview, author Mariah Rigg discusses breaking writing rules in her debut short story collection, Extinction Capital of the World.| Writer's Digest
A short story poem about forgiveness. I hope you enjoy it. This completes my promise of a month's worth of beautiful posts. I hope you found at least one beautiful post this month.| Selma
The whole sky had been overcast with rain-clouds from early morning; it was a still day, not hot, but heavy, as it is in grey dull weather when the clouds have been hanging over the country for a l…| This Reading Life
**************************************** UNICORN NO MORE ********* This is the 123rd and****** Last Ever****** UNICORN CHALLENGE ****************************************** Visit Jenne Gray to see the photo prompt, and post your amazing story in her comments section.Or on your own blog, and stick the link down … Continue reading →| Sound Bite Fiction
Copyright Ayr/Gray **************************************** UNICORN NO MORE ********* Next Week *** the 123rd and*** Last Ever****** UNICORN CHALLENGE ****************************************** …| Sound Bite Fiction
Chapter 5 – Part 2 Chapter 5 – Part 1 Chapter 4 – Part 2 Chapter 4 – Part 1 Chapter 3 – Part 2 Chapter 3 – Part 1 Chapter 2 – Part 3 ...| Postcards from the Age of Reason
The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb| Fanda Classiclit
Hi, all: Today, I bring you a short story by one of my favourite authors and a fantastic blogger to boot. The Rabbit Hole: A Short Story by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene Unbridled whimsy in a short story. In the whimsical mind of author Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene, the psychedelic rock song by Jefferson Airplane (“White Rabbit”) […]| Just Olga
It was a strange time for us all. My mother, always a confident woman, acted odd her whole pregnancy. Was nervous from noon to night. My father, a nonstop talker, was silent. And I had what t…| Okay Donkey
There’s a place on the road to the west where there’s a car park for a lake. Traffic signs announce a viewpoint with little triangles that are supposed to show there’s something nice to look at. People stop in the car park and sit on the grass drinking tea from flasks. We used to go there, when my children were younger. | The Stinging Fly
Copyright Ayr/Gray The Unicorn Challenge. A magical new weekly writing opportunity from her – Jenne Gray – and me.Visit her blog every Friday to see the photo prompt, and post your amazing story in…| Sound Bite Fiction
“How strange,” murmured Riya, eyes still fixed on the pages in front of her. “What’s your fairy godmother up to now?” Sana asked from the other end of the room, not bothering to look up from her book. Her voice carried the usual teasing tone, playful but familiar. Riya smiled faintly. “Nothing. I was just … More Nothing Strange| Void Thoughts
Writing—or any creative endeavor—to some extent is a leap of faith and a huge personal risk: Faith that what you have to offer others will be worth the time it takes to read your work and will add …| Deborah J. Brasket
The rustling sound and movement in the bushes alarmed him. When he had lain down in the darknessbefore, it seemed that there was nothing in the nearby woods that would be a problem. Suddenly,he felt that might not be the case. As he shaded his eyes from the bright, hot light above, he began to seethe creature stepping into the clearing where he had slept. Surprisingly, it looked like him, somewhat, butwas different in unfamiliar ways. Its movements were graceful and determined, showing no sig...| The Bookends Review
Ingots of Gold It's Raymond West's turn to tell a mysterious story when The Tuesday Night Club next re-convened. It involved his newest acqu...| klasikfanda.blogspot.com
A mysterious pool proves helpful in more than one season of lifeContinue reading| My little corner of the world
This story based on Stephen King’s prompt in his book “On Writing” comes with a 30-year delay. Did she have an imaginary friend? Yes, she did. Nelly would say he was quite real, even if other people could not see him. His name was Sinbad like the cartoon character. He had huge dark eyes, tawny-brown skin, a turban and those funny pointy-toed shoes on his feet. Sinbad came to her house when her mother moved out. Her mother Jivka changed her name to Jane when she left for London. Sinbad k...| The Bookends Review
The first time Liz Chaffin saw Mickey dancing was at the funeral of the dead Mexican boy. She had long since forgotten the Mexican boy’s name, but she remembered that they kept the pine coffin closed because the boy had died from a shark attack. Her father offered no more details, but the closed coffin, topped with exotic flowers from the Yucatan, was sufficient for her imagination. They kept Mickey’s coffin closed too, not because of an irate shark, but because of what he had done to him...| The Bookends Review
Copyright Ayr/Gray The Unicorn Challenge. A magical new weekly writing opportunity from her – Jenne Gray – and me.Visit her blog every Friday to see the photo prompt, and post your amazing story in…| Sound Bite Fiction
Wednesday, June 25, 2025 Hello, everyone. The “Re-Inventionator” robots are on hand again. Life can be a smooth, steady ride for some people. For others, come hell or high water, t…| Teagan's Books
by Bethany Taullie As I step out onto the porch, a warm ray of morning light brushes my face. The air in July is always sweet—a combination of rainwater and honeydew. Blue jays sing as a sof…| The Lit Nerds
Luke weaved between honking, fume-belching metal to catch the bus coming up the other side of the road. The bus stopped just after taking off from a bus stop to let Luke on. The quizzical faces inside the bus facing Luke espoused: “Why did he get on here?! Him?!” No tourist sights existed where Luke had boarded, where English was limited, traffic chaotic, crossing streets perilous, traders screaming out prices, pedestrians mixing with horn-blowing vehicles, everything just missing each ot...| The Bookends Review
Chapter 4 – Part 2 Chapter 4 – Part 1| Postcards from the Age of Reason
Christi had a birthday party scheduled over at The Glass; a gritty, cozy, and unwilling place to be. It was a bar and that was enough for me, I guess. Wednesdays are a good night to drink just like any other day of the week and it was one hell of a day. It was Christi’s twenty-third birthday and although the day was shit, I tried to have a good time. She phoned me. “Are you coming tonight?” she asked. “It’ll just be a few of us. We’re meeting at The Glass at 7:30.” “I’ll be ...| The Bookends Review
Back in February 2024, I posted a very short story called “A Series of Locks.” It came to mind in pondering which stories and poems that I’d like to translate into a video (a list that keeps growing!). The idea for a keyhole came quickly for how to frame illustrations in the video. Later, I… Continue reading Series of Locks — now a video→| Dave Williams
One of the most delightfully odd tales in the Sherlock Holmes canon, “The Red-Headed League” showcases Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s talent for mixing humor, eccentricity, and classic detective work into a perfectly crafted short story. “The Red-Headed League” was first published in The Strand in 1891. The Plot Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story The […]| Golden Age of Detective Fiction
This week, I’ll be reviewing a selection of cat-themed short stories and books for #ReadingtheMeow2025. Most of my picks are from the Golden Age of Mystery fiction, which is set between the t…| Golden Age of Detective Fiction
It was early August. On that steamy Saturday night, which was slowly changing over to a Sunday morning, the temperature was still in the 90’s. Under the heat dome, there was no relief. Kevin was smoking and pacing in front of the pizza place. He checked his watch and saw that it was ten till midnight. Kevin looked out at the street, but there was no sign of Wayne, who’d promised that this last run of the night would be really quick. There was nothing Kevin could do, so he sat on the curb ...| The Bookends Review
The noise from the pub cuts off abruptly as the door swings shut. She hesitates, not knowing where he has parked his car, and he gestures up the road towards the square. His other hand lifts towards, although does not quite touch, the small of her back.| The Stinging Fly
Copyright Ayr/Gray The Unicorn Challenge. A magical new weekly writing opportunity from her – Jenne Gray – and me.Visit her blog every Friday to see the photo prompt, and post your amazing story in…| Sound Bite Fiction
Todd Floss here. A quick note about my future. I plan to write a few fiction novels now that there is a huge need for them. I’m shooting for high six figures for the first one. Toby Vonnegut’s book Ass in the Chair: Writing Your First Blockbuster was a big help to my thinking, so I’m way ahead of the curve. I have sixty-eight ideas as of noon today. My plan is to print the ideas and tape them on my living room wall. In that way, they will be staring me down. I’ve dipped into some fict...| The Bookends Review
“See you tomorrow,” says Grandpa Julien, as his fake daughter drops us at the door for our usual weekend visit. He waves as she skitters down the steps. The stinkers. I sling my backpack hard into Julien’s messy living room and stomp into the house. He looks the same as always with his rumpled velveteen jacket and a wild geranium in his snow-white hair. Mom and Julien pretend he’s our grandfather. He is really our father. Mom was really just a model for his paintings. They’re not r...| The Bookends Review
That damn commercial. It kept airing in between game shows, its sentimentality breaking up the raucous flow of applause and flashing lights and cartoonish contestants. A little girl calling her grandmother on an iPhone and telling her about a sunflower she drew at school while the grandmother looked out the window at the lone sunflower in her yard and smiled. After about its 50th airing, Lottie powered on her father’s old desktop computer and ordered an iPhone on Amazon. She hadn’t made a...| The Bookends Review
Did I feel reformed? I can’t say. But, as I watched those heavy, black gates dizzyingly sweeping to a close, one thing was certain – I never wanted to see them again. That day, with the last rays of the sun, a period of my life ended that I wished never to relive or recall again. The railway station was teeming with people, fortunately for me. After all, where could a person hope to attract least attention if not in a crowd? Nonetheless, there must have been somethi...| The Bookends Review
by Mary Ann McGuigan Jack reads the last lines of his story and sinks back into the sofa’s deep white pillows, as if he wants to disappear. He’s kind of small, narrow shoulders, thin arms and neck, so he almost does. “That’s your best so far,” Bill says. Bill speaks only in superlatives, but Kevin […]| The Lit Nerds
by Amanda Fetters Privately, Bryony felt the market was better off without the wizard. Bryony leaned her signboard against the daffodil bucket: Bryony’s Blooms, it read, then smaller: Good Things Take Time to Grow. She lifted the signboard, leaned it against the bucket once more. Lifted it. Leaned it. Touched the corner to make sure. […]| The Lit Nerds
by Tammy Komoff The cobblestones shimmered with heat between the ancient two-story buildings crowding the narrow street. A barren passage of stone and stucco. The Gardener tipped his hat to a pair …| The Lit Nerds
A special friendship between a dog and a first responderContinue reading| My little corner of the world
Until the end of 2024, L. Andrew Cooper’s (my) short horror story “Burst” is FREE to download in the Horrific Scribblings store! I write a short story every Halloween, and this story was born Halloween 2024, which makes it my most recent short (about 7,000 words). I’m publishing it here on HorrificScribblings.com first, which makes Read More The post Have a Free Burst of Joy appeared first on Horrific Scribblings.| Horrific Scribblings
Chapter 4 – Part 1 The Healing of Lórien Chapter 3 – Part 2 The Ring of Doom Chapter 3 – Part 1 The Ring of Doom Chapter 2 – Part 3 Unexpected Surprises Chapter 2 – Part 2 Unexpected Surprises Chapter 2 – Part 1 Unexpected Surprises Chapter 1 – A Staircase of Stars...| Postcards from the Age of Reason
Chapter 3 – Part 2 The Ring of Doom Chapter 3 – Part 1 The Ring of Doom Chapter 2 – Part 3 Unexpected Surprises Chapter 2 – Part 2 Unexpected Surprises Chapter 2 – Part 1 Unexpected Surprises Chapter 1 – A Staircase of Stars Author’s Note: This is another facet seen in LOTR,...| Postcards from the Age of Reason
this is a totally work of fiction not inspired by any events that happened today or anytime or by any people. In the bleak January of 2035, Huda Ziade stared at her terminal, the blue light casting…| Tara Tarakiyee - Techverständiger
The alarm sounds. Waves three, four, five times the height of the two brothers roll towards them from the deep end. Low hum of the machine that generates the waves from somewhere unseen. Shankill Leisure Centre. Their father has brought them here, sits in the viewing gallery in his Liverpool tracksuit while the boys jump into the waves from the shallow end. The younger brother has never seen him in swimming trunks, let alone in the water. He doesn’t want to believe it but he’s sure their ...| The Stinging Fly
The 1952 Club is hosted by Karen @Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings and Simon @Stuck in a Book. After checking the lists to see which books were first published in 1952, I realised that I had three o…| This Reading Life
Chapter 3 – Part 1 The Ring of Doom| Postcards from the Age of Reason
by Whispering Gums A post in our 2025 series featuring works published in 1935 (or by authors who died in 1935). This post includes a short story that was published in The Cairns Post on 28 …| Australian Women Writers Challenge Blog
One day, people were astonished to find that the long-dormant DApps had come back to life, like ghosts in the night, quietly growing in the void. Hidden within the transaction logs of abnormal blocks, a cryptic string of clues emerged, leading back to a silent plan—a mysterious breeding experiment of autonomous on-chain Wood-Wide-Web, conducted on| Summer of Protocols
LIGHTSPEED is a digital science fiction and fantasy magazine. In its pages, you will find science fiction: from near-future, sociological soft SF, to far-future, star-spanning hard SF-and fantasy: from epic fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, and contemporary urban tales, to magical realism, science-fantasy, and folktales. Welcome to issue 179 of LIGHTSPEED! This month we're serializing an original SF...| Weightless Books
When I met her for the first time, she was sitting quietly outside my building, just chillin’, listening to her music. She had the most eclectic musical tastes of any person I’d ever met. We spoke …| Hotel by Masticadores
Chapter 2 – Part 3 Unexpected Surprises| Postcards from the Age of Reason
Find it Here!| Wasteland And Sky
The small village of Kolotovka once belonged to a lady known in the neighbourhood by the nickname of Skin-flint, in illusion to her keen business habits (her real name is lost in oblivion), but has…| This Reading Life
Chapter 2 – Part 2 Unexpected Surprises| Postcards from the Age of Reason
Chapter 2 – Part 1 Unexpected Surprises Chapter 1 – A Staircase of Stars| Postcards from the Age of Reason
Lydia did not vacuum the floors or dust the overloaded bookshelves when the men started returning three years later, in small groups of fifty or five hundred at first. She did not stoop below her daughter’s small white desk, now the centerpiece of the family room, to gather up the tiny construction-| The Cincinnati Review
LIGHTSPEED is a digital science fiction and fantasy magazine. In its pages, you will find science fiction: from near-future, sociological soft SF, to far-future, star-spanning hard SF-and fantasy: from epic fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, and contemporary urban tales, to magical realism, science-fantasy, and folktales. Welcome to issue 178 of LIGHTSPEED! We're kicking off the issue with an...| Weightless Books
NIGHTMARE is a digital horror and dark fantasy magazine. In NIGHTMARE's pages, you will find all kinds of horror fiction, from zombie stories and haunted house tales, to visceral psychological horror. Welcome to issue #150 of NIGHTMARE! We have original short fiction from Lincoln Michel ("The Tugwort") and Ana Hurtado ("Pezcara"). Our Horror Lab originals...| Weightless Books
A note from the author:| Postcards from the Age of Reason
For the past couple of years, Fanda @Classiclit has been hosting an Agatha Christie short story readalong. The idea is to read two AC short stories each month (you can see her selections for each m…| This Reading Life
by Whispering Gums A post in our 2025 series featuring works published in 1935 (or by authors who died in 1935). This post includes a short story that was published in the Sydney Mail on 24 …| Australian Women Writers Challenge Blog
“Don’t hang up on me, Emily.” “Why are you calling, Roger?” Remember, the judge ruling on our divorce recommended we employ a mediator to determine how we’ll divide everything rather than hiring more lawyers.” “How do we divide the furniture, cut them in half? How do you split the bed, the one we slept in and fucked in for five years?” “This is not the way to resolve this. Neither of us can afford more legal fees. The judge gave me the names of three mediators, and I check...| The Bookends Review
«The Custodian» by Nigel Byng It was the monarch butterfly tattoo that got me. It occupies a corner of her right shoulder, peeking from under the strap of her vest. Ink has meaning, and monarch but…| Hotel by Masticadores
«A Father’s Shadow in the Middle of the Rain» by Norj Joseph It was christmas eve, but the rain fell gently, blanketing the world with cold water.Inside the cozy warmth of their home, a young…| Hotel by Masticadores
Surrounded by lavish mansions, the old beach cottage looks small, forlorn and utterly out of place on its water-front lot. A red estate sale sign is the only color in the withered front yard. A middle-aged woman sits on a bench in the entryway holding a wad of cash in one hand, her cellphone in the other. Lost in conversation, she smiles as I walk by on the sidewalk and waves me toward the front door. It is mid-February and I’ve just escaped an Idaho winter for a short trip to Coronad...| The Bookends Review
Last year, around the time that Cathy and Kim announced that 2025 would be their Year with Edna O’Brien, I came across this book of Edna O’Brien short stories in a local street library.…| This Reading Life
NIGHTMARE is a digital horror and dark fantasy magazine. In NIGHTMARE's pages, you will find all kinds of horror fiction, from zombie stories and haunted house tales, to visceral psychological horror. Welcome to issue #148 of NIGHTMARE! We have original short fiction from Katharine Tyndall ("The Morning Room") and Leyla Hamedi ("Karabasan"). Our Horror Lab...| Weightless Books
Featured image by Laura @ Black Moon Lilith Welcome to this week’s edition of NTT! Thank you to everyone for all your excellent submissions last week. Fantastic work by all! Please have your …| The Beginning At Last
Saturday, December 21, 2024 Blessings of the solstice, to everyone here. Although it barely feels like autumn at my home, in the hemisphere where I live, it is now officially winter. I’ve a…| Teagan's Books
Photo: Pexels So Tightly Wound Roland and I have been arguing the whole way to Coachella: I hate camping, it’s too hot, we can’t afford this. But I never actually said no. When we arrive, some band’s bass is making the air jump. We find his friends in the car camping area, getting drunk under […]|
Photo: Austin Human Monster Men from Outer Space The monster men came from outer space, their sideburns fizzing as they burned through the atmosphere, space dust beading up on their brows. They lan…| atlasandalice.com
The trees with branches thick and coarse, barely move when children swing from them. Those trees have strong, deep roots that won’t let a child fall. Such trees have branches that can hold the weight of an argument over who did the dishes last. Such trees can stand to have the very bark torn from their bodies over screams of ‘I hate you’ and ‘just leave me alone.’ Such trees know how to bounce back and start a fresh the next day. ...| The Bookends Review
By now my mother and I do not speak. Nonetheless, she is a presence hovering everywhere I go. She has smelled the same for as long as I remember. When I had outgrown the powdery smell of babies she too stopped smelling like talcum. Now she smells like bubblegum as if littering the air with a confetti of bubblegum wrap long after it has lost its sweetness in her mouth. I assess that smell in the room to confirm she has left or if she has merely retreated to a far corner where I won’t hear th...| The Bookends Review
Normally, they would have been up by 7:30—they got up when the dog did—but their dog had had a big day yesterday, an extra walk up and down the hilly streets of Baltimore and a longer than usual game of tennis ball in the backyard, and was still asleep. So the problem wasn’t that it was too early when they heard a woman’s voice calling them from their living room at 8:45; the problem was that a woman’s voice was calling them from their living room. “Jerry? Sandra? You there?” It...| The Bookends Review