An open letter to my past (nearly)loves

Some of you hurt me, some of you disappeared, some just faded. All I loved— in some capacity. Some friends, others lovers— you know when I love I love hard. I’m all in, always. A toxic trait of mine maybe; maybe it’s what pushed you away; maybe it’s what brought you closer. In any instance, …

Meeting the Band

By Marissa Ammon It’s crazy to think how much can happen in 13 years. I think the year was 2002 or 2003. We were in high school. I hung out with the boys and our bud, Kyle who had a dang cute sister. It wasn’t until my sophomore year that I met her since she …

The Wallflower Queen

By Pamela Loperena .i. In front of a concrete wall, a girl stood watching pairs of silhouettes swallow the dance floor. Unlike everyone else at the party, she seemed to have arrived there alone. She wasn’t exactly a social butterfly; but, she went since she received a mail invitation and always convinced herself to attend …

What Waits Within

By Mason Longenberger The door swings open with growing curiosity. The air around it gives way, moving itself for the wild wonders welcoming the wary wanderer. Such venturer trailing off to seek the hidden treasures of Pandora’s box, the forbidden fruit of the glorious grove. This traveler of foreign lands has sought out the finest …

First Times

By Michelle Nedboy I knew about bees and what they did. They stung. I knew I’d get one maybe on my right knuckle or on my thigh or in the soapy hinge of my elbow, like I saw all the other kids get. I didn’t think I’d get one in my ear – the wasp’s …

To the End: Dead or Alive

By Amanda M. Gordon “What’s it like?” I ask her as I light my cigarette. The pale ghost eyes me with contempt from where she sits – on her very own headstone. Morgan Gates, who lived from September 18, 1983 to October 18, 2008, swears that she was killed just before midnight on the 17th …

Whale Days: One Excerpt from a Journal

By Jack Huppert October 25, 2019 A week has passed since I became Dr. Weinblatts' man. Before me, he had already managed to change a Mouse into a Rat, the Rat into a Guinea Pig, then the Guinea Pig into a human. Which he then sadly had to put down for ethical concerns. I think …

The House

By Ruby Odierna My heart is a house with little rooms inside, and every person I love has a room. They lie in crooked beds by themselves, always sleeping, and they are all equally alone, but contained in one larger house together. So when I say that I love you, I mean that you occupy …

The Cell

By Mason Longenberger A droplet soared through the thick, chilling air, piercing its way as if diving with a will of its own. Faster and faster it descended on its trek. Time around it stood still, waiting, watching for the inevitable fate of the daredevilish drop. The stone surrounding stood still, indifferent to the mingling …

Diaries from Blue Mountain

Day 0 - March 14, 2017 I finally made it. After a plane, a train and a bus ride, I finally made it to the mountain. The travel guide didn’t lie, its beauty is astonishing. Something out of a movie. I can see it through the cabin window now. In the fading light it looks …