This story is by Devin Farmer and was part of our 2024 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. Trickery is at the heart of courage—or so I told myself before boarding Dad’s charter boat. I watched anxiously as home became a blemish upon cerulean waters.   Ugh, what I would give to be anywhere but here. Being the daughter of a starved fisherman meant spending my summer tethered to a war-torn deck as the salty sea air coated my sun-kissed skin. It meant fighting unruly fatigue as the rise and fall of the tide was our compass to unbeknownst riches. I admit ..read more

This story is by Sandy Juker and was part of our 2024 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. Eight-year-old Grazelda Mandel, bullied and shamed by classmates and family, curled her gnarled hand into the folds of a dingy white tutu. With her good hand, she grasped the discarded curtain rod that served as the barre, and danced for the girl in the cracked mirror; a ballerina with gold-flecked eyes and, in Grazelda’s wishful vision, two perfect hands. Every position, and every practiced leap, developed her rare natural talent. But only the pigeons cooing in the ..read more

This story is by Gary G. Little and was part of our 2024 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. It seemed like this road went on forever. He turned his head left and right and looked for any change. Nothing. He turned slowly, watching the horizon. No bumps, no nothing. No hills, no clouds. Nothing. “Ha, maybe this is forever,” he mumbled to himself. How had he gotten here? Why was he on this road?  He stomped on, not knowing the direction he traveled … just on. His right arm brushed against something on his belt. He looked. A canteen, and as soon as he ..read more

This story is by Zoe Condos and was part of our 2024 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. A piercing screech jolts her awake from a fitful slumber. Disoriented, she blinks with heavy eyes. The noise persists, gradually fading until it ceases altogether. With a start, she sits up on the uncomfortable metal bench, hears a woosh and an echo of doors slamming shut and watches a train leave. A subway station, that’s right. She had sought refuge here during an unexpected downpour on her way home from work. The heavy rain had turned into a thunderstorm and a few ..read more

This story is by Allie April Knox and was part of our 2024 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. The little town of Remington is surrounded by country roads and wooded lands. The closest city is fifteen miles away and consists of criminals, rejects, and dilapidated buildings. The miles of trees, undergrowth, and wildlife that separates them are perfect for two kids and their wandering adventures.  “I mean, it’s super obvious he likes her,” Ada reasons as she clambers over the top of the ledge. “I don’t why he won’t just ask her out. Everyone else figur ..read more

This story is by Alexis Quinn and was part of our 2024 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. Amid the raging war, the air trembled with the echoes of battle cries, and the ground quivered beneath the weight of armored feet. The cries of the people who had lost loved ones rang out above all the cannons’ explosions. The clash of steel reverberated through the air, drowning out all other sounds as the soldiers fought tooth and nail for victory. The acrid scent of smoke and blood hung heavy in the air, mingled with the metallic tang of fear that clung to every ..read more

This story is by Joe Streiff and was part of our 2024 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. Ernie hated breakfast in general, and he hated muesli in particular. Yet here he was, munching away at a full bowl, just as every morning, because ARG-U5, his health insurance’s AI, had decided in all its wisdom this was what he needed. This and a glass of freshly replicated orange juice. No sugar, of course. When Ernie had finished, he put on his coat and went to the Blitz, just as every morning. These things run at 450 km/h, he thought, one comes along every 8.5 mi ..read more

This story is by Jude Garnier and was part of our 2024 Spring Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. Once there was a village named Croesffordd, which bears its name because of the crossroads at the edge of the forest. One path led to the unknown, the other led back to the village through the woods. It was common knowledge that if you ventured into the unknown, you would come back with no memories of your time away, suffering from an inconsolable grief that you wouldn’t know the causes. Little did the villagers know the path led to the kingdom of Elfame, the last home of t ..read more

This story is by Rebecca Reed and was part of our 2024 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. From the pitch darkness, a slip of mysterious radiance from an unseeable source illuminates the identification bar code tattooed over his undulating carotid. It beats a steady rhythm in time with the unbroken tempo of his breathing. A whooshing tide of a sea neither of them have ever seen is programmed to play on the soundscape machine for another six hours. She slides a broken ceramic shard from under his pillow, then herself from under the covers. Stealth and sile ..read more

This story is by Sherri Lee Boyd and was part of our 2024 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here.   Sydney pushed her hair off her face, sipping her morning coffee, looking through the picture window. She felt blessed now that she was about to turn eighteen. This was all to be one quarter hers and Mitch’s left to them by their mom. The ranch she loved as a child, her home spread before her. The lake, a mirror smooth as glass, serene with a hint of color as the sun rose through the mountains. Seaweed, along the edge of the beach, washed up from the night ..read more