wine bar, green card, ex-boyfriend, jungle     -fanny                The first time I saw him, half of his face was swallowed by a thick beard. It was the type of facial hair Dumbledore’s better-looking younger brother might have had, bespeckled with… bread crumbs? Fish flakes? Dandruff? I hope it was dandruff. It had to be dandruff.  Deep brown strands hung from his face, fizzing into a deeper gray near the curve of his neck. A hairy jungle, truly— one that distracted me so much that I don’t remember much else about him. Then again ..read more

mom jeans, dissection, drive thru, coincidence     -sarah                Just as she had shoved half a burger in her mouth, cheese dripping and ketchup squirting, June saw him. Sitting on the passenger’s side, mumbling something to his mother... He looked up—maybe at her, maybe not at her; June couldn’t tell because she had flinched, immediately snapping her head to the opposite side. “What’s wrong?” her dad asked, pushing the carton of fries towards her. “Eating too much too fast?” He chuckled and took a swig of cola. June wanted to ..read more

gurney, coup, lover, cherry cola     -shirley                Just for the sake of imagination, let us assume it’s a Tuesday afternoon, the kind that has the sun glinting from behind that dusty couch in your childhood home. We’re sitting in some French-esque coffee shop, only we’re too nonconformist to order americanos—or, actually, anything ending in “-o.” Instead, it’s a lemonade for the lady and a cherry cola for the gentleman. You can decide which of us is what. If you like, we could even be lovers. The choice is yours. Just make sure t ..read more

i miss being outside     -vivian                There is no reason for it, you know. For what, Anita asks. For feeling like this, Anita, for talking about this again. Anita’s arms are around my shoulders, she the steady anchor, I the capsizing boat. Always the capsizing boat.  It’s okay, it’s okay, she shushes. It’s okay. But how long has it been, Anita? Do you know? Can you remember? I wish someone did, Anita. I wish there were answers I could cling onto, but no, she whispers, no, I whisper, I don’t know. I miss being outside, Anit ..read more

beach sunset, vagabond, taken, astronaut     -charisa                “Two espressos and a butter rum muffin, please,” murmured the 234th customer of the day.  Ysenia scribbled down his order on a worn-out notepad, her head bobbing up and down to signal she was listening. The customer is always right, the customer likes smiles, the customer likes to know you’re listening. And this time, Ysenia really was listening, enlivened by the last word tumbling out of his mouth. “Please,” he had said.  It was such a nice word. However clum ..read more

story about a storyteller     -anon                [door clicks] Dr. Fatima: Hi, how are you, come in, come in. What’s been going on? Josiah: You know how it is, Doc.  [chair screeches across floor] I’m okay, I’m good. Something’s always going on—or if not on, then under. Oh, that’s a good one. Something’s always going under. Dr. Fatima: Going under? Josiah: Yeah, you know, like “going under the knife,” or “water under the bridge.” “6 feet under.” Something like that… [pen scratches against paper] [Josiah coughs] Dr. Fatima: Ha ..read more

jounced, symmetry, neighborhood, graph     -anon                Boris is three years old. He likes cars and airplanes and the color blue, but only because people tell him he does—though not directly, of course, because who in their right mind tells a three year old anything directly? Boris has one father and one mother, one of whom is Santa Claus and one of whom is the Tooth Fairy. Can you guess who is who? I admit it’s an unfair question.  The truth is that Boris’s parents, like most parents, are both and neither at the same time ..read more

baby, trash bag, bus driver, chocolate cake    -miranda & brandon           The first time Oscar stumbled across it, it was wrapped in a trash bag, wet and crying. He had peeled back the plastic layer by layer, had ripped open the red knot at the top of the bag and peered into the darkness to find a naked baby. It flailed its little baby arms. He called the police.  Oscar thought they’d be able to figure it out on their own so that he could go home and have his Chef Boyardee and maybe a cigarette or two, but the movies were right. Cops were us ..read more

 paint the town red     -an english idiom                I don’t know why Billy hasn’t come home to play with me yet. This morning he told me he was going to spend his birthday painting the town red with his friends. I couldn’t come because it was a pub they were going to, but Billy said don’t worry, he’ll be home early and we’ll buy strawberry ice cream together. I didn’t know what he meant by painting the town red, I didn’t think anyone owned that much paint and if they did that was a waste of money, but he said silly goose, it just ..read more

desdemona, bugatti, a single man, no kids     -anon                The only thing that ever belonged to me was the heart of a girl named Mona.  You read it like it is a romance and I am a poet. If I could look you in the eye the same way you are looking into my soul (for you read these secret words, do you not?), I would laugh at you. But by the end of this, maybe you will be laughing at me. “Marco,” the man said after unlocking the front door, “Welcome to America!” And then he laughed, like you will be laughing. And after he laughe ..read more