By Stacie Hargis It was exactly seventeen weeks from the day it happened.  There I was on the beach, the sun, warm on my back. Belly smashed against a soft towel on top of rough, shell-infused sand. I was reading but was distracted by the noise around. Flipping over, I land on the sand instead …

By Paul Melkonian My sister Ruthanne died on New Year’s Day, 2012. She fought a short, vicious battle against the bully cancer. Like much of her life, the process was meticulously planned and carried out: Inform siblings. Inform close family & friends. Inform the world. Pack your shit. Close the factory. Turn out the lights. …

By Katie Durant Sometimes my mother crashed. She seemed to have left the house, but really, she buried herself in it, occupying the big bedroom, lying on the bed ensconced in a deep comforter. She went back to bed after we three left for our elementary and middle schools. Coming home not finding her but …

By Donna Tarrant On Columbus Day, Oct. 14, 2019, I was working at my job at an outdoor restaurant/ice cream stand. I felt a child come up against me. Turning, I saw a little girl with long, curly, brown hair who said, “I can’t find my Mommy.” Immediately I set down the trays I had …

By Deklan O’Connor A friend and I were talking about their job as a Pre-K after-school attendant. There had been an incident where a child had bit another, and my friend off-handedly mentioned that they, of course, of course, could not tell the parents of the bit child who was the biter. The bit child’s …

By Lexi Belevre Perry After fifty-five years of living in the quaint family home, Winfield mastered his particular morning routine. Upon waking up, he started off in his rustic kitchen, with many of the same brown and sage green furnishings, still intact. His mobility and forgetfulness naturally worsened his efficiency, but still managed to fulfill …

By Susan Hutchinson His passing, sudden and horrific, a drug-induced, homicidal savagery, sent ripples of outrage and grief throughout the congregation.  And this church, the promise of a humbler and purer way forward, was his way of attempting to cast aside the needled grip of drug life. And yet his search was answered in the …

By Ian Brown Each year as many Christian Americans are cleaning up from gift exchange at Christmasand looking forward to observing the celebration of a New Year, descendants of the long extinctgermanic-tribal Kaltbetrunkengeil people begin to make preparations for the only one holidaythey’ve ever been known to celebrate: the Festival of Frühlingswahnsinn. Origins Kaltbetrunkengeilers were …

by Nora McClellan One time, my sister and I watched an Ancient Aliens episode about the world ending on December 21, 2012 because of the Mayan calendar and, you guessed it, aliens. Given my young age and tendency to take things literally, I took these conspiracy theorists’ words as Gospel. I grew terrified, worrying about …

by Katie Durant Because the divorce hearing was held a year and a day after we were married, my husband came to court with an anniversary card. I wore a skirt suit, and he wore his usual tee-shirt and cut-off flannel ensemble. He smiled sweetly and said, “Happy anniversary,” as he handed the card to …

Katie Durant Partial list of things I am allergic to: ·         Pith – all, orange in particular ·         Mousse – all, chocolate in particular ·         Caterpillars – Fuzzy ·         Dust – all ·         Pollen – all, ragweed in particular         On my daughter’s initial pediatric visit, my mother asked the doctor if she believed in …

By Olivia Agostini I couldn’t take it anymore, his booming voice and wrath. I’d cower, cover ears and pray his fire’d die, he’d go away.I’d sob and hide up on the stairs, my mother’d guard me well, But as his face went crimson red, he’d throw my suitcase, words unsaid, And I and mother huddled …

Stop Killing Us: A Study of Lesbian Representation in the Media By Olivia Agostini        The lesbian community has become more visible than ever, yet visibility does not mean acceptance. Queer women still struggle for rights in the workplace, in their own homes, and even out on the streets. Women, as portrayed by the media, …

The Best Weapon Is a Woman By Brandon Thompson        In the poem “Ozymandias,” by Percy Shelley, ordering the murder of an innocent child in order to hold onto his legacy is exactly the type of thing Ozymandias would do. Cersei Lannister, the main character in the popular series Game of Thrones, does this, as …

Climate Change and Overpopulation By Fyodor Berkovich        Since the dawn of abstract thinking, humanity has pondered how it will meet its end. From the Quran, to the Bible, to countless other sources throughout history, prophecies where all of humanity dies are plentiful. Ironically, it would appear that the day of the fulfillment of the …

A ‘Jolly Good Show’: A Fan Theory on Lord of the Flies By Lucia Arrigo               Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, is a novel about a group of well-mannered British schoolboys who are stranded on a deserted island following a plane crash. Without adults or society, the children become savages and …

By Katie Durant When I was nine or so, I boarded the wrong school bus home.  too afraid to speak up, I rode all the way through and out of the small town I lived in.  We passed a taxidermy office and a pond I had never seen before.  To keep myself from seeing more …

By Grace McDermott     I didn’t think I was putting myself in a position where I might be in danger when I first started working at the restaurant. I was just worried about whether or not people would like me. After all, I was a hostess, not a lion tamer. It seemed like a …

MiketheTuna

By Alberon Gundim, Jr.   The nail I once hammered into the beige wall of my bedroom, at my parents’ house in Annapolis, Brazil, stayed firm and strong enough to hold a big, heavy mirror that became the ears I spoke to for a while. I had it perfectly centered to reflect my whole body …