To Do List: Buy Sharpies

by Beth Sherman

Label medications by the day of the week. Label appliances in big block letters: STOVE, DISHWASHER, FRIDGE. Label the cat’s collar so when it darts out the door, a kind stranger will return it. Label the door. Label your wrist: name, address, daughter’s cell. Label the toilet. Label your past happy – who’s to say otherwise? Label your memories, fragile as soap bubbles, before they drift away and pop. Label your children: the good one, the pretty one. Label the stranger’s face confused when he appears at last holding a struggling animal that might, in the right forgiving light, be yours.

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
Beth Sherman’s writing has been published in over 150 literary journals and appears in Best Microfiction 2024 and Best Small Fictions 2025. She’s also a multiple Pushcart and Best of the Net nominee. She can be reached on X, Bluesky, or Instagram @bsherm36

 

Ghosts

by Selene Ibarra Rubio

Rain pattered on the train’s roof as it glided through the hills surrounded by crumbling mountains. I observed the other souls on the train- a pale little girl with a hospital gown, an elderly man with a missing arm, and a female with numerous slashes. And I- my tattered suit, bloody violin case, and bloody thighs with dangling skin and exposed bone- couldn’t remember how. I’d asked the charred man ahead. He said that was common for new souls. He told me I’d remember eventually as we voyage on the never-ending train ride; but I still felt I’d forgotten something.

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
Selene Ibarra Rubio is an eighteen-year-old woman. She is currently attending San Jose State University for a degree in mechanical engineering. She also has an upcoming story publication with Collective Tales Publishing in their new anthology "Darkness 102: Lessons Were Learned."

 

A Griffin’s Ransom

by Catherine Brown

I crouch, hidden in the dragon’s garbage pile. It reeks of fresh blood and ancient decay. Her snores reverberate off the stalactites and the phosphorescent walls of the cavern.

I mustn’t fail. Her gold is my cherished griffin’s ransom. I creep past the hollow ribcage and snaking spine of an elephant.

Cramming gold in my pack, I take only what I can lift.

Silence. My knees tremble. Her left eye opens, revealing my distorted reflection in her inky pupil. It wasn’t a snore. It was a purr. She’s not purring now.

I grab my pack and unsheathe my sword.

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
Catherine Brown’s flash and short fiction has been published in Havok Magazine, The Offbeat, The Veggie Wagon Journal, and a 2 Elizabeth’s anthology. Her short fiction has been a finalist or placed in multiple writing contests, including the grand prize in the Chanticleer Book Awards SHORTS Contest. Website: https://www.chbrownauthor.com/

 

On Being Phil Marlowe

by James C. Clar

Detective Spangler moved behind my chair. Breeze, his partner, stood in front and said, “We’ve got two stiffs connected to the Matthews dame you’re working for. It’s time to spill what you know.”

“Sure. And to hell with detective-client confidentiality, right? Go pound salt!”

Spangler’s sap hit just behind my ear. From the floor I watched the dust motes dance gaily in the afternoon sunlight that streamed through the window of my office.

Marlowe, I thought, you’re an ass. It’s like you’re always playing out a scene in some cheap dime novel. You really need to mature as a character!

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
James C. Clar is a teacher and writer who divides his time between Upstate New York and the mean streets of Honolulu, Hawaii.

 

The Wear and Tear

by Richard Lehan

"What causes a hernia, Doctor?" Martin asked, curious. "It's not like I strained myself lifting something heavy."

Doctor Kang, the surgeon, had just finished examining the bulge protruding from the right side of Martin's groin.

"The abdominal wall weakened due to the wear and tear on your body." Doctor Kang, who was old himself, was bemused by the look of mild surprise on Martin's face. "Not an uncommon occurrence for a person your age."

"Huh," Martin responded. He prided himself on having no other visible signs of wear and tear.

"Welcome to the future, my friend." Dr. Kang laughed.

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
Richard Lehan is a fiction writer living in Massachusetts. Most recently, two of his flash fictions were published in May 2025: "A Labyrinth for the Pandemic" in Feed the Holy, and "Wandering Joy" in Suisun Valley Review. In addition, his one-act play "Conflagration" appeared in the Autumn 2024 edition of Rushing Thru the Dark magazine, his short story "Ambulatory" appeared in the Spring 2024 edition of Coneflower Cafe magazine, and another story of his "Ambulatory" appeared in Story Sanctum in December 2023 and was included in their year-end anthology "Tales from the Vault. Finally, his flash fiction "State Forest" also appeared in the 2024 edition of Stolen Shoes Literary & Art Magazine.

 

Behind Every Man

by James C. Clar

Isabelle had never been prouder of Edward. He looked magnificent in his elegant suit. Everyone commented as well on his magisterial bearing. He was, finally, the center of attention; attention that, in Isabelle’s opinion, was his due. Nor was Isabelle being ignored since the goal of everyone who entered was to be seen with her.

Edward was, of course, in the limelight because of her and the three drops of colorless liquid she had placed in his martini last week. As the mourners passed, Isabelle basked in the glow. It was true. Behind every successful man, there was a woman.

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
James C. Clar is a teacher and writer who divides his time between the wilds of Upstate New York and the more congenial climes of Honolulu, Hawaii. Most recently his work has appeared in Bright Flash Literary Review, Sci-Phi Journal, Antipodean Sci-Fi, Freedom Fiction Journal and The Literary Fantasy magazine.

 

Only Ever Three

by Ron Wetherington

There are only ever three things that Emily prays for at night, kneeling at her bed. To hear what the nightingale hears, to sing with the crickets, to see the world through the eyes of a damselfly. Her mother tries not to question this unusual longing, given her young daughter’s severe handicap. She seeks instead to quietly encourage more realistic dreams. But in her happy, tiny world Emily is stubbornly confident.

Occasionally, Emily disappears for an entire night, her empty room falling silent except for the soft chirping in a distant corner. And at times a cautious response.

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
Ron Wetherington is a retired professor of anthropology living in Dallas, Texas. He has published a novel, Kiva (Sunstone Press), and numerous short fiction pieces in this second career. He also enjoys writing creative non-fiction. Read some of his pubs at https://www.rwetheri.com/.

 

Book Begone

by Peter Gregg Slater

“Am I correct, you want this book banned?” the President of the Wonham High School Board asked the parent standing in the overflowing auditorium.

“Yes, from the classroom and the library. Like the Board did earlier this evening with Keith’s Prom Dress.”

“Give us more specifics.”

“Where to begin? There’s drunken driving, a fatal hit and run, adultery, violence against a woman, racketeering, a homicide, and a suicide. Plus a racist.” Murmurs of dismay in the audience.

The Board conferred, sotto voce. after which the President announced, “By a vote of 8 to 1, the Board bans The Great Gatsby".

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
Peter Gregg Slater, a historian, has taught at several institutions, including Dartmouth College and the University of California, Berkeley. In retirement, he has devoted himself to creative writing. His poetry, fiction, parody, satire, and creative non-fiction have appeared in DASH, Workers Write!, The Satirist, Masque & Spectacle, and Defenestration.

 

The Ventriloquist’s Wife is No Dummy

by Jon Fain

His thrown plaints bounce off the salt shaker, his half-eaten hamburger, her coffee with skim. She deflects rebounds, ignores the begging, looks at her watch. Can’t believe she thought this dull piece of wood was the better showbiz option. True, with the other chap there’ll be the top hat menagerie and the sawing-in-half thing. But better a nightly sashay in high heels and skimpy spangled outfit than boxed into surrogate mommery with hinge-jawed sidekicks. Outside the diner, skimpy trees bordering the parking lot sashay in the wind and the window she’s next to rattles—picka card, picka card, picka card.

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
Jon Fain’s micro fiction has appeared in Six Sentences, The Dribble Drabble Review, The Daily Drunk, Blink-Ink, ScribesMICRO, Molecule, The Woolf, and elsewhere. https://www.chillsubs.com/profile/jonfain

 

Doing the Math

by Linda D.

In junior high, my friend Jeannie was baffled when the math teacher said "show your work". Jeannie had a natural talent for math, and didn't have to work hard at the stuff we did in 8th grade. She would look at a problem and understand it in her head. No calculations needed, apparently. Some teachers suspected her of cheating. (As if she'd be foolish enough to copy a lesser person's answers). I showed her what I did, working it out on paper the way we were taught back in 3rd grade. "Oh, they want us to do it the hard way!" she said.

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
Linda D. publishes excerpts from her semiautobiographical memoirs.

Knighted

by Oskar Greenblatt

In my elementary school, half the boys in the fourth grade were called Larry. Officially, they may have been named Lawrence, Laurence, Larrimore, or even Larkin, but they all answered to Larry. The predictable incidents of mistaken identity brought the easily-amused class of nine-year-olds to hysterical laughter all too often. The teacher, Mr. Barnes, was not amused. He decreed that all Larrys would be called by their surnames. To me it sounded delightfully Arthurian: “Greetings, Sir Name.”

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
Oskar Greenblatt enjoys reminiscing.

 

Buongiorno

by Ellen Ringer

Edward believed that no sincere effort is ever wasted. Any investment of time and energy, he insisted, will pay off, perhaps in unexpected ways. The six months and hundreds of dollars he spent on Italian lessons seemed wasted when his cruise was cancelled, but he never complained. Sure enough, when I ran into him less than a year later he introduced me to his beautiful Italian girlfriend, who was helping him relocate to Milan.

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
Ellen Ringer is an amateur beekeeper who lives near Portland, Oregon

 

Denial, Bargaining

by Wanda Farr

I had decades of experience being young. I was good at it. I remember my youth quite well, and could do it again. I’d be much better this time, because I know much more about life and the world. I have the skills -- in fact, I feel young right now. Putting a strong, young person like me into this fragile, soon-to-expire body was a silly mistake. I deserve another chance. Don’t you agree? ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
Wanda Farr is the pen name of a retired teacher who prefers to keep her writing separate from her social and professional identity.

 

Focus

By Noah Landers

When he sincerely tried to pay attention to what they were saying, they accused him of staring and being creepy. When he carefully looked away, they complained that he was rude and ignoring them. He tried a system of looking at them and looking away in equal amounts, and they said he seemed shifty and nervous. He settled into a study cubicle at the back of the library where his presence surely couldn’t bother anyone, but the librarian sent him to the counselor’s office to talk about why he was self-isolating. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” he said.

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
Noah Landers attends California State University, Long Beach

 

Jane

by Sudden Flash

In a paroxysm of petulance, Nora threw her copy of Mansfield Park into the library’s fireplace. She could no longer tolerate the avalanche of words. Why did people in those days speak and write in such convoluted ways? By the time they got to the point and the sentence came to an end, she had forgotten what they were talking about. No wonder the average life expectancy then was so short! They died of boredom.

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
Sudden Flash is an online magazine of extremely short fiction.

 

Word Problems

by Linda D.

In algebra class we used to get problems like this: A 15,000-gallon water tank is 1/3 full. It is leaking two gallons per hour. It can be filled at five gallons per hour. How long will it take to fill the tank? I know how to do the math. But the real solution to this problem never appears in a textbook: Repair the tank. ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
Linda D. publishes excerpts from her semiautobiographical memoirs.

 

The Classics

by R.K. West

The faculty lounge was quiet. Professors Anthony Nelson and Charlene Hampton sat at adjacent tables, both drinking coffee from university-branded mugs. Hampton graded a stack of essays while Nelson stared at the screen of a small laptop computer.

“Nobody reads Hemingway any more,” Nelson complained through gritted teeth. “And now the department has dropped him from the required reading list.”

“Really,” said Hampton with unfeigned indifference. “Who’s required now?”

Nelson winced. “Joan Didion.”

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━
R.K. West lives in the Pacific Northwest, and uses the endless rain as an excuse to stay inside and write.