I wish I could explain it; I don’t really understand it. But I know it’s true that it is all my fault. All the trouble I’ve created. I never have understood my own strength. I just can’t stop: it is who I am, what I do. I am truly sorry. Robert Ludemann is happily retired and at his desk writing ..read more

Sister apple trees, one fuller than the other, transform to white confections every April. Tirelessly, bees buzz from bloom to bloom. A long rain nourishes roots and hidden tendrils. Infant fruit withstands wind, insect borers, and waterless days. Freckled young apples grow, blush pale red, ripen, ready to be eaten. Deborah lives and writes in northwestern Montana. Her stories can be read in The Ekphrastic Review, Thin Air Magazine (Online) and The Potato Soup Journal among others ..read more

Under a Saturday sun in the church parking lot, a poet behind the mic says, “I had brain surgery seven days ago. Buy my chapbook and I’ll show you my scar.” Weaving through the dwindling crowd, I approach with a ten and glimpse jagged line breaks on every beautiful page. Guy Biederman lives on a houseboat, serves as valet to a dainty Tuxedo, and writes during catnaps which are short but fortunately frequent ..read more

Two robots fell madly in love, made possible by their companionship modulators degrading. They wanted a child, so they took mechanisms from each of their bodies and built a Smallbot. Each year, they added more pieces. Over time they gave their child everything, down to their last nut and bolt. This is Jared’s second 50-word story. He is not a robot parent… or is he ..read more

A biggish spider dangling from a forgotten corner of the porch suspended, dead, by its web, endured the harsh Winter winds and blowing rains of impending Spring. It died in Autumn, with legs curled to its abdomen, fluttering at the end of its enduring silk, looking remarkably like star anise. Cate Covert has been regaling friends and family with her tall tales since she could talk. She loves engaging with her reading audiences. Her poetry, flash fiction, and humorous stories reside at Cate Covert on Chadashah.org and her Inspirational essays and bible studies at Pastora Cate’s Corner on Substa ..read more

I hear the beeping of the machine, the sands of my hourglass running thin. I can’t communicate. “Talk to him,” the nurse urges. “Are you in pain, Grandpa?” Aaron asks, watching me gently move my hand over my chest. No, I think, hand over my heart. I’m just loving you. Seth Pilevsky’s work has appeared in What Doesn’t Kill You, a YA anthology published by Indomita Press, Maelstrom, The Inner Circle Writers’ Group Literary Anthology 2019, Identity Anthology by ArrowHeart Publishing, Tales of the Strange Anthology by The Writer’s Workout, Stinkwaves Magazine, Long Island Literary Journal, Literal ..read more

She dips the brush, composes a haiku. “Cherry blossom weeps, Bitter winter wind laments— Fierce hearts do neither.” Compliant wives conform. But she’d rather confront her treacherous husband on the battlefield, beneath snapping crimson skies. “Wielding Father’s sword— Scarlet camellias bleeding From my ink-black hair.” Victory—like justice—is poetic. Deborah writes at an old desk surrounded by five hundred pet bugs ..read more

He is tempted to lick the ice cream running down his fingers from an overstuffed waffle cone, but he has been taught that that kind of thing is in poor taste, so he watches it drip from his fingers to the ground, where, clearly, it cannot be enjoyed by anyone. Ran Walker is an award-winning author of over 30 books and the creator of the 100 x 100 micro novel. He teaches creative writing and lives in Virginia with his wife and daughter ..read more

Frank Sinatra’s voice coats the snowy night as I contemplate turning off the radio. “Not going to dance?” you ask, not smiling, because I can’t remember anymore how your lips eased into your lopsided smile. I’ll blink and you’ll disappear, I know. But before that, you are here, aren’t you? Chelsea Allen is in love with people and things past, mostly. Her work can be found at msha.ke/lakehouseporch/#links. Follow Chelsea on Twitter at @ChelseaAllen03 ..read more

He guided her fragile, bone-thin hands to the strings. Helped her pluck a tune over the beeping monitors. Hummed her their lullaby. “You’ll have to teach me properly, love. Later.” She whispered the impossibility, leaning into him, comforting. The tune faltered, his voice broke, hands stilled. She smelled of forget-me-nots. Celine Grace is a young writer obsessed with the mystery of ideas and is learning how to use marks on a page to tell them ..read more