by Foster Trecost I read the lease like I’d read most leases, giving each line a fair start, but finishing only a few. After the first page I was eager to sign so I quickly flipped to the second, but in place of continued fine print, my eyes locked onto letters so bold they mimicked
by Niles Reddick Among the G-Wagons, Ferraris, and Rolls Royce convertibles, we parked our rented Ford Escape and walked with tourists and the rich and famous shoppers. My wife pronounced it “Ro-day-o” while I pronounced it “Ro-dee-o” because I was from the rural Midwest and had gone to rodeos my entire life. My pronunciation annoyed
by Barb Natividad When Max came and went from his apartment, one of his neighbors was usually in the tiny front yard of their building, sitting on a plastic lawn chair next to a cooler. His hands dangled from the arm rests. His left hand was missing three fingers. The neighbor always nodded at Max
by David Macpherson On a cold November morning, Walter backed the Subaru from his parking spot and hit something hard. He grunted as he got out to inspect the damage. The annoying alarm reminded him he had left his keys in the ignition. He forgot more these days— scenes hidden behind a thick wall he
by Geri Lipschultz “Did you notice that the most enlightened souls are born on January 1st, and the second most on December 31st? Did you notice that both you and Miranda are kings—not aces, however—according to your birthdays, alone? Fascinating it is how similar you are, even in your differences—you who dabble in the esoteric,
by Murali Kamma The rains were scarce that year, causing hardship in the region, but at Noname Place, more than the erratic supply of water, it was M who initially brought disruption to the residential building. M? Could they really have used only letters when referring to individuals? Sure, and they used numbers as well
by Patrick Dawson Tetra wore a pale violet shirt, a man’s shirt, billowy and loose, its silk shimmering in the light. She had been silent for a while, motionless like a bird waiting. “Have you spoken to Vera?” she asked. He didn’t appear to be listening. “She’s been away in San Francisco,” he answered finally,
by Scott Bradfield Nobody in the garden understood why a spider would be friends with a fly (let alone vice-versa) but such unexamined prejudices mattered little to either Sam Raimi or his roommate, Oliver Wendell Holmes. Like most good partnerships (marital, financial, or even athletic), Sam and Oliver had met as exuberant children playing in
by Paul Ellams I always wanted to be like Bobby. From the first time he came round to our house with my sister in 07; the way he wore his Bench Jacket, the way the gold chain dangled off his wrist as he drank his bottle of Becks, and the clinking sound the glass made
A swarm of cars, the frenzy typical of big city traffic, surrounded Dr. Arlo Perkins the day Lily spotted him on her way to the gym. She approached an underpass that harbored a ramshackle community of tents, bags of garbage, and one person, still as death, in a sleeping bag. The trucks and SUVs on