Mikka Gamble | Baccer Stick
Cole smirked, allowing a low laugh to escape. My other brother and I watched from the window in sheer joy. It wasn’t until then that I noticed the narrow piece of wood in my father’s hand. Read more...

Catherine Smith | The Best Laid Plans
The house had stood vacant for almost two years before I bought it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite empty. Not long after we moved in, I discovered that we had “uninvited house guests” of the four-legged, rodent variety. Read more...

Sheldon Compton | The Bottom Field
Stan closed his eyes then opened them. Eve watched from the doorway. She seemed punier than yesterday. Everything did. Read more...

Nathan Hall | Faustian Bargain
“Think of it this way, Miss Renalds: If my story is a success, you are. If it flops and everyone thinks I am crazy, well, you interviewed a crazy old man. This can do you no harm, and you are already here.” Read more...

Joshua Logan Slone | The Mountain Letters
Letters I will mail this letter on the 28th of December. Please, my Sara, include the date in your letter so I may see how long our correspondences take in travel. I will write many letters in that passing time and will yearn for that first response from you. Read more...

Tamara Howard | Plain White Tennis Shoes
“What’s wrong?” Jerry asked, his brow furrowed with concern. He found himself asking me that question a lot and wondering how on earth he could help me. Read more...

Thomas Matijasic | Raising a Regrettable Past
It was already over ninety years old when Grandpa bought it back in 1924. My mother’s people told me that every afternoon after he got off work, Grandpa would crank up the Model T and ride into the countryside looking for land that reminded him of his childhood in the foothills of the Tetra Mountains. When he found this piece of property, he bought it. Read more...

Phyllis Puffer | Trust Me
We were pretty good marchers at this point. We were all in step and kept our lines pretty straight. We marched along the paved road in the rhythm of centuries. Read more...

Kayla Price | Beauty Is the Beast
My love for animals goes beyond an unhealthy obsession for dressing small dogs in cute outfits or only getting my hamster out of the cage when I was bored. My earliest memories as a child are of my neighbor and me walking a short distance from my house to the Staffordsville Flea Market – better known as the stock yard. Read more...

Tommy Slone | Ethic of Reciprocity
A little kindness can get you a long way in this world. Life is both a blessing and a burden–it’s an ongoing struggle for everyone who takes part. Sometimes a little common decency is all a person needs to feel better about his entire situation. Read more...

Derek Whisman | The Gas Masque
Before I could say anything in return, three of our classmates rushed into the bathroom. I expected Jack would try to hide the evidence of his plans, but instead he held up the container as if he were hoisting a trophy into the air. Instead of being surprised, the others cheered and high-fived one another. Apparently I was the last one to know of this plan. Read more...

Marvin Rowland | I Believe in the Coffee Can
That short, tubular container, no top or lid …well, maybe a plastic lid, that vessel that once held two pounds of a brown, roughly ground powder, that old metallic repository is what I seek. Read more...

James B. Goode | In the Moment
I think Mamaw’s brain has turned into a DVD of her life. She lies in her bed in the nursing home and randomly pushes the invisible buttons. The shiny wheel spins and locates a particular time, a particular place, with particular people. It is filled with people who were there. Read more...

Phyllis Puffer | My Afternoon with the President of Guatemala
The president was seated in the right rear seat of a luxurious-looking, highly polished, black car. No one else was nearby, not even the driver was at his place behind the wheel. However, some soldiers could be seen here and there in the woods, clearly on watch. Read more...

Matthew Smith | The Peasant Girl in the Tower
A little kindness can get you a long way in this world. Life is both a blessing and a burden–it’s an ongoing struggle for everyone who takes part. Sometimes a little common decency is all a person needs to feel better about his entire situation. Read more...