—other news, after multiple years of delay, a final date is set for the first manned mission to Mars. This October, seven astronauts will embark to the distant red planet in a great scientific journey, a monumental achievement to welcome society’s next great leap forward. A better era—
Continue reading “Reflection by Mason Yates”Category: General Fiction
The Night the River Sang by Claire Massey
Prelude: Native American legend has it that the Pascagoula tribe preferred death by drowning to lives of enslavement by their enemies. According to one “mist of time” story, men, women, and children were heard chanting to their ancestors while walking en masse into this Mississippi coastal river. Receptive listeners, recreating on these waters, have long reported phantom music. In 1985, historians successfully lobbied for a name change, from the Pascagoula to the Singing River.
Continue reading “The Night the River Sang by Claire Massey”WEEK 448- Bulking Up; Another Fine Week; Annoying TV Characters

Now that it is officially autumn, Andy and Alfie the Feral Cats are bulking up for winter. Well, actually only Andy, because Alfie is already beefy as it is. He’s a rarity, a Feral Cat who has a double chin. Andy, however, changes his body type with the season. During the warm months he sheds his long coat and becomes lean and ripples with muscles. Come September he begins eating twice his normal amount and by the time November rolls around he looks like a fuzzy Tapir.
Continue reading “WEEK 448- Bulking Up; Another Fine Week; Annoying TV Characters”That Time When Cole Almost Kissed Jane by August Miller
“Alright alright, I gotta tell you about this time Cole almost kissed Jane. Cole’s a good guy, a bit of a fucking nerd if you ask me, but a good guy, an accountant at this firm, just a little one downtown. Doesn’t look like a whole lotta money flows through it. Cole usually parks like a half a block down. Sometimes, it’s really nice out, then I think he walks the whole way to work, something like 7 blocks maybe, but it’s got that shit intersection off State.”
“Right, hate that fucking intersection.”
Continue reading “That Time When Cole Almost Kissed Jane by August Miller”The Shrew’s Tale by Simon Nadel
Adam likes to trade celebrities. He says it makes him feel a little better after someone he particularly revered has died.
Continue reading “The Shrew’s Tale by Simon Nadel”I Can See Clearly Now by Frederick K Foote
When I was six or seven and attending a segregated Black school in Virginia, I had a crush on the smartest girl in our class. Gloria was not only smart but cute and friendly to everyone.
Continue reading “I Can See Clearly Now by Frederick K Foote”Reunion – A miniature by O Chŏnghǔi
Translated from the Korean by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton
The particles of snow, barely visible at first, thickened as the day wore on.
The nuisance of having to leave the comfort of home was tempered by the childlike effervescence triggered in me by this the first snowfall of the season.
Continue reading “Reunion – A miniature by O Chŏnghǔi”The Bellowing Bells by Billy Stanton
The balconies had been intended as a benevolent gesture. One in particular has become a joke and a curse.
Continue reading “The Bellowing Bells by Billy Stanton”Ceremony by Caleb Coomer
Rattling feet and active tongues met the clang and squeal of the drums and choir. The language spoken by the congregation was foreign to me, just a boy then: it sounded like some alien dialect from Star Wars. I noticed the power that language held over the horde of rambling adults. The mushed up words spilled out, filling the sanctuary with a sacred tongue from a cavern of the mind I hated to have witnessed.
Continue reading “Ceremony by Caleb Coomer”Week 446: Influences; Site Influencers and Under the Influence
Influence
When in a certain mood my mother could kill a good vibe with a comment more quickly than the Andromeda strain can wipe out a small town in the desert. There would be a get together of family and friends, and everyone would be chatting and having a nice time and she would inevitably have to say something like:
“It’s sad to think we will all be as dead as people in old movies someday.” Then she’d cast an innocent glance around the room (which included children) then add “Ever wonder who’ll kick first?”
Continue reading “Week 446: Influences; Site Influencers and Under the Influence”
