the spattering and splashing of the waves from the ocean striking and surging, every movement is like the rushing and rustling mess in my head, comes back bigger and greater with every descent and as i lay my head unto your chest i listened carefully to the silent beating of your heart i am in… Read More Safe Haven by Michelle Ayon – Navajas
“Hi Jimmy.” Her voice rang in my one good ear. Sweet Jesus, she had seen me, and there was no avoiding her now. I waved and walked to her counter. “I came to renew my license.” “You could have done it online, Jimmy.” Charmaine peered at me from over the top of her glasses. I… Read More I Was Once a Drug Lord by Nigel Byng
Long John Silvers was one of my first jobs in high school. Riding my bike on Saturday, hungry, smelly, and with jeans that hugged my thin frame to the point of being naughty, I went inside. The sign on the door said, “Help Needed.” All the high schoolers went there to eat lunch because it… Read More Twenty-Five Cents by Joni Caggiano
Cinco De Mayo. That was about all the Spanish that Jose spoke. You would think with a name like Jose Manuel Esteban Perez, he would know even a tiny bit of the language. But Jose was born in the suburbs of Pennsylvania, to a woman from the Caribbean who worked as a maid for a… Read More La Diablesse on South Beach by Nigel Byng
During the third year of school and living on the big four, I was divided into pieces by a swift sword, perching on my safety edge. My brown eyes must have turned black as I heard mom’s words, but I was sure I was suffocating. “Joy, honey, we are moving to Brooklyn, New York. Your… Read More Leaving the Big Four by Joni Caggiano
It was the monarch butterfly tattoo that got me. Occupying a corner of her right shoulder, peeking from under the strap of her vest. Ink has meaning and monarch butterflies have deeper meanings. I’d watch her for several minutes every day after that. Her air pods were playing some sort of salsa or Spanish music,… Read More The Custodian by Nigel Byng
Sarge was my friend since childhood. Or at least as far back as I can remember. She was different from my other friends. A rugged, nasty streak, with a dry sense of humor as a side dish. She hated most people, but when she befriended you, she was like pit-bull with a bone. You were… Read More Sarge by Nigel Byng
The woman cocked the hammer of her .38 and aimed it at the hulking man who jumped out suddenly from behind a eucalyptus tree. “If I kill you,” the man said, waving a knife in her face, “that’ll make number 13.” The woman laughed and began squeezing the trigger. “If… Read More Soul Mates by Dawn Pisturino
It’s my wife’s birthday party tonight. I took a day off to get ready, well, not me getting ready, it’s getting her and the party ready. I dropped her off at the spa first thing in the morning, then went to pick up the party decorations, then straight to the venue to set everything up.… Read More The Love of my Life by Cassa Bassa
The station was empty, save for the moths fluttering by the lemon glow of the lone lightbulb. You could almost hear the quietness, the eerie lull so characteristic to my town. Quiet, lost and forgotten little place. Existing in secret. The train came in, huffing and puffing, hooting, and whistling, creating the only buzz and… Read More GOING HOME, SINATRA by Isha Garg
Having had migraines for years, I knew I would need that third pill. No more than 300 milligrams of Imitrex, and I would take that enormous, new, blue blood pressure pill my family doctor just prescribed. I was way too young to be having blood pressure issues. But the unexpected has a way of meandering… Read More The Blue Pill by Joni Caggiano
“Ignorance is an incredibly confident state of delusion. It is a lesson I need to learn.” I was scolding myself on my way home. I had been naïve. And my shallow, limited, immature view of people had exposed me to a very harsh reality. I guess the speed of globalization had unconsciously stirred to the… Read More The Girl from Southhall by Nigel Byng
Life had brought him to a crossroad. Well, perhaps it was more like a roundabout with five or six exits, and he was stuck in the wrong lane. Because every time his arrogance had brought him to a fork in the road, he had chosen to keep going straight. Francis had made his own path.… Read More The Baritone by Nigel Byng
Why men rape is unknown to most. No one can tell. Some say it is a pathological assertion of power over a victim. The news would tell us that sexual abuse is usually done by men under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs. Little do we hear about a perpetrator who is kind, intelligent,… Read More NO by Michelle Ayon – Navajas
Uncle was visiting his nephew, a famous fashion designer. Nephew, always armed with opinions, delivered them without regard to the wounds he inflicted. Now that Uncle had arrived, Nephew was intent on accosting the older man about the manner of his dress. After Nephew was seated, the men stared at one another for about… Read More His Dull Countenance by Edward N. McConnell
My leather dress clung tight to tired, wet skin. At almost seven-foot-tall, I was a woman that obtained attention around humans far too quickly. Thin, my shoulder blades stuck through just below my long, cylindrical neck. It will be my last visit to say goodbye to a family of humans called the Simons. Every year… Read More Last of Her Kind by Joni Caggiano
Snow had fallen for five days in a row, and we were no longer allowed outside. Yet, my hateful sisters, Ruth and Elizabeth, somehow obtained mom’s approval to drive to the deli right up the street. Mom gave them money for sandwiches and hot cocoa. They both stuck their tongues out at me as they… Read More Freezer Burn by Joni Caggiano
The ritual was painstaking. It never got any easier. First the freezing cold shower to make his skin tingle with shock, jerk the lethargy out of his bones, bump his soul into existence. Then, turn the dial to piping hot, leaving him red raw, aching, reduced to a whimper. Next, lower the temperature back to… Read More The Water Writer by Britta Benson
The giblets of a turkey never got me worked up. Thoughts of stuffing, long-necked turkey soup, or even giblet gravy didn’t dance in my head. Instead, my mouth would water when Mama breaded and fried up those turkey gizzards, yummy! Our menu included lots of small lobster tails with the usual seafood trimmings. Sides included… Read More Special Delivery by Joni Caggiano
“Oy! You hold ya horses now.” She shouted at the driver while standing in the doorway to the bus. I ran, half asleep, dropping my half-eaten packet of chocolate digestives. I didn’t care. I grabbed a seat and promptly tried to get back into that napping phase like a lazy alligator. “Simpletons. Every one of… Read More The Angel on Broadway by Nigel Byng
The call came in on his office landline. “Tony Blackwell? We want two million dollars in small bills, or your wife eats a bullet.” Tony laughed. “She’s a whore. I don’t give a damn about her. Do you know how many times she’s cheated on me?” “Hey, man, I’m sorry, but she’s… Read More You Can Have Her by Dawn Pisturino
Anguish threw her vile smell around the house like a cat who sprays the coffee pot. Strings of tension gave rise to erect hair follicles like they always did when something horrible was about to happen. Mom and my little sister Rosa were nowhere to be found. Dad’s car was parked in the back of… Read More Booze and Bobcats by Joni Caggiano
I’ll chap her door. What else can I do? That woman must know something that I don’t. Hettie died on Friday. The family didn’t hang around. No wake, no cake. Her son clearly adopting the less is less approach. ‘She wouldn’t have wanted a fuss’, he said on the phone, like he knew her. Trust… Read More Buttercream and Biscuits by Britta Benson
Isabella was having a difficult time breathing. Every inch of her was crying silently, releasing her anger on the gas pedal. She restrained herself by pumping the breaks so her husband, Liam, whom she was tailing, would not see her red Tesla. Isabella was a striking woman who loved her husband of twenty years. She… Read More Dead Man’s Party by Joni Caggiano
Chewers 