Untied
Al Kratz Skitter scattering critters of the ceiling, we’re trying to sleep around here. I guess boundaries and borders. I guess party […]
Category: flash fiction
God knows what to do with our bed
Kik Lodge Down in Grignan, a man called Didier has a comfortable clic-clac. He’s a self-diagnosed poet and truffle-hunter, says all treasure […]
How A World-Famous Pianist Arrives At His Venue Where He Plays Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 In A Slightly Out-Of-Tune C Minor
Noémi Scheiring-Oláh All I see are eyes, staring at us as we leave London Waterloo Station, carrying our heavy load across […]
The Man With the Moon
Sabina Wong Little Ramon Huang was in love. His child’s mind too small for him to process this particular complexity, all […]
The Other Mothers
Kelle Clarke The early morning train passes swiftly through the thick trees below, sending her coffee mug jittering across the counter. […]
How to visit an Irish peninsula in the 1970s
Mary Byrne Take the long way around a coastal promontory on a Sunday afternoon. Floor the accelerator in vain when the clutch […]
Nobody Will Hear Them
David Hartley Craig knows other Craig sneaks into his shed with his girlfriends. Craig knows other Craig thinks nobody will hear […]
How Do You Recognize a Good Man?
Kristina Thornton Friday night freedom hangs in the air as she follows him through the packed street. Shouts and laughs surround them. […]
Out to the Rain
Lauren Cortese We think we stopped crying on a Thursday. Those of us who were at funerals or who gave birth that […]
The Copyeditor’s Lament
JP Seabright I dream in the margins. My head full of black marks on a page. Several small underlinings; here and […]
With Nothing to Lose (Not Even Her Body)
Mandira Pattnaik Adori wasn’t always a shadow. When her husband confined her to a window-less room immediately after her twins were […]
Amicable
Nathan Willis Say that you need some time alone. It’ll be easier this way. Suggest that your partner visit her […]
Convenience Store Babies
Rosaleen Lynch Convenience store babies were all the rage back then. Came with pipettes the size of turkey basters. Advertised in […]
Illumination
Sarah McPherson When I am fired, I take the angle-poise lamp from the edge of the desk. I am not sure why […]
In the City of Philandering Flowerpots
Tara Campbell How, exactly, does a flowerpot make love? And how does a flowerpot betray? Technically, a pot is a vessel, […]
Dentata Non Grata
Kate Doughty The first tooth came, and the rest of them followed. This would not have been an issue if I […]
Laughing Tiger Buckles Slowly: A T’ai Chi Lesson
Tom Walsh T’ai chi is going slowly. The instructor’s cat died and we spent a lot of time talking about that. He […]
Little Limbs
Leonie Rowland He came to me on his seventy-fifth birthday, when his hands were soft enough to save. They had kept […]
Star Guard
Todd Clay Stuart On the first night of the comet, Beth looks up between the austere poplar trees in their back […]
Statistically Speaking
Daniel Guy Baldwin There is a fifty-one percent chance of being born a boy, forty-nine percent chance of being born a […]
The Galactic Well at the Edge of Existence
Riley Cross Eo stirred the well with a silver spoon. The waters of space and time rippled in response. He waited for […]
The Obligatory Alligator
Jesse Millner Last night I dreamed I drove through an army base I’d never been to before. It was huge and filled […]
The Registrar
Abi Hennig He tucks a stray curl behind her ear. She leans into him, rests her head on his shoulder as he […]
Workaholic
Katja Sass It’s 9.45 pm. Everyone’s gone except a 30-something woman sitting alone in her 2m2 office cubicle, finishing off the last […]
Foreign
Lisa Ferranti Editor’s note from Sudha Balagopal: I’ve enjoyed Lisa Ferranti’s fiction for the gentle intimacy her stories convey. In this tale, […]
The Grapevine
Marcy Dilworth Editorial note from Sara Siddiqui: In her vivid and concise story, Marcy Dilworth describes the wisp of energy and enthusiasm […]
How To Tame a Sea Parrot
Rachael Smart (words) and David Smith (photos) Editor’s note from Janice Leagra: This is a very special and exciting feature for me […]
Lorna
Johannah Simon Editorial note from Myna Chang: This story pulses with desolation and skewed hope, from the powerful narrative voice to the […]
If You Were the Last Man on Earth
Dara Thomas Higgins Editor’s Note from Janice Leagra: I’m drawn to Dara’s writing, in part, for its sly, deadpan wit and strong […]
You Can’t Always Get What You Don’t Even Want
Cheryl Markosky Editor’s Note from Jan Kaneen: I came across the first version of this flash in a Retreat West workshop that […]
Insolubles
Ali McGrane Editor’s Note from Jan Kaneen: I’ve been an admirer of Ali’s writing for ages. I love her use of lyrical […]
Bee Costume
Dan Sanders Editor’s Note from Janice Leagra: I’m drawn to Dan’s stories because they are intelligent and entertaining, told from a singular […]
So Much In Between
Ellen Weeren Editor’s Note from Sara Siddiqui: Ellen Weeren gives us the story of a woman who’s birthing a baby right after […]
The Forms I Took to Escape From You
Sharon Telfer Eel … you, all slippery sweetness baiting your trap, me, gliding sliding straight in, wriggling slithering bumping those curving lips […]
Assembly Instructions For a Love Triangle
Raima Larter LoveTriangle.com Thank you for completing our online questionnaire. See below for your personalized LoveTriangle kit instructions! Materials included in your […]
Underworld
Cate West It is morning, early. Sunk on a mattress. The tube isn’t running or she’d feel the joists shaking. If she […]
Remediation
Kate Gehan Her son Jonah noticed gray pellets of scat on the roofline leading up to a displaced board under a soffit […]
The Language of Flowers
Grace Palmer “Dearest,” he began, but as he hesitated over the next word his pen dribbled ink onto the paper and blotter. Harry […]
Instructions for Maintaining the Fabric of Your Universe
Karen Jones and soft touches in those first few hours of the honeymoon. Slow caresses, case still full of dresses, this room […]
Brought to Bed with a Good Book
Jacqueline Saville Kerry agreed to be my birth partner eventually. She’d been in greater denial than me about my expanding waist and […]
Domestic Blindings
Jenny Wong After my thirty-seventh birthday, I begin to wander the house at night with the lights off, and wonder if this […]
A Horse Named Kairos
Marissa Hoffmann When Dad isn’t reading, he’s talking, and there’s no stopping him when he’s in a good mood. Mum is on […]
The Counselors of Stelita Tero
Mike Keller-Wilson The counselors of sleepaway camp Stelita Tero are beasts, uncaged till morning. By now, we’ve shed our counselor skins, stripped […]
Un, Deux, Trois
Helen Chambers ‘Morning all – hope you’re wide awake, cheerful and ready to work hard. Don’t yawn, George, or you’ll set me […]
So That Light Carries Through
Chris Panatier Editor’s Note: Chris has a talent for writing the uncanny, to which I am very drawn, because of how it […]
Our Last Night (tw: abuse)
Travis Cravey Editor’s note: I am drawn to Travis’s writing because his stories are honest and memorable. He features characters the reader […]
Lost Property
Lynda Cowles 13:44 The last train leaves the station. Rails hiss. Cables buzz. Pigeons flap then float back down. On the platform, […]
Accommodation
Kim Murdock Her husband worked late and her daughter was made of clothes and music so Miranda decided to arrange the calendar […]
Sunshine Sugar
Amy Stone I smile. I can hear those paws in the snow, padding over to where I stand. Sure enough, he’s at […]
Little Miss Buford
Edie Meade I spend a lot of time on the floor behind the deli counter at Buford’s Grocery, watching the top of […]
