FLASH FICTION
Forty-Nine Roses by CJ Julisch
There were forty-nine white roses in the arrangement nearest to me. I counted them twice. Someone at the florist wasn’t paying attention. The front-row chairs were upholstered in dark red velvet, which was thinning at the edges. I rolled…
Dangling by Gayathri Thiyyadimadom
The day felt sticky, the low, black sky weighed down with the scent of monsoons. With puddles beneath their feet and shut umbrellas in hands, they shuffled into the building in their damp dhotis and saris, an elevator heaving…
There’s Something So Deeply Human About That by Christina Tudor
Rumors swirled around Mari like a second shadow. Rumors that her mother had abandoned her at a gas station, left her strapped in a booster seat in the back of the car with the keys in the ignition. That…
Preservation by Melissa Bowers
I’ve been collecting snores from the first night we slept together. No sex yet, just sleeping—passed out on a friend’s couch after a night of wildness, back when we were wild, back when we ordered tequila shots with lime…
Ghosts in the Rain by Julia Strayer
“A day of fun,” my father had said, but that Sunday only involved walking from one place downtown that was closed to another. He bought white sheets for my bed at the only store open. This wasn’t long after…
Runner-boy by Chii Ọganihu
The boy stood no chance, really. They were five against his one, young men like him no older than twenty-three. He first sensed that something was wrong when one of the boys locked the heavy entrance door, leaned against…
Feather Brained by Jennifer Maloney
I’m just sitting down to write when my mother descends out of a Winston-blue cloud, nosy-necked, squinting. Her head glints with bobby pins, skinned-tight and sectioned, mapped out like a city block, an argument for redlining, a gerrymander, aspirational,…
Casino Woman/Tamil Girl by Sumitra Singam
Paati has put the TV on in the back room to keep us kids out of the way of the prayers. On the veranda, Appa sits shirtless before the homam fire chanting in Sanskrit after the priest. An ancient…
Brother Jack by Gloria Mwaniga Odary
performed miracles in the dining hall, handed you his phone to read out a text from Jesus; something about not letting a hair of your head perish. Brother Jack’s bullet voice tore into your flesh as he placed pulpy…
Nostalgia UTI by Trisha Dhar Malik
Packing up an old home into boxes. Heat of Bombay in May—impossible. Sweat everywhere. Sticky nostalgic and sad, the scene—not poetic or sexy. Sound of that stupid fan, an old creaky man. Over and over and useless like a…