Archive

Winter 2008

Fiction

Mercy by H. H. Morris
I wrote it up the way Martin had reported it and included nothing about the second pillow. Three days later we got our copy of the death certificate. A doctor with more letters in his last name than most of us have in all three diagnosed congestive heart failure as cause of death. It was, everyone said at her funeral, God’s mercy.

Misconnections by Nancy Christie
Finally, her probing finger found what it was searching for, and she drew out of her mouth one very small baby tooth, loosened perhaps in the crash. Carefully, she laid it on the stretcher, and then stood up, gazing at it, waiting, I suppose, for the Tooth Fairy to bring her some coins.

Testimony Expunged by Michael A. Heald
Ostensibly, they sent me for my own grief, so that I would find solace in solitude and healing in silence, but I knew my mate would find another to complete him before I returned. The integrity of the Eklesia must be preserved. Amen.

A Small Sin in Nuremberg by Michael L. Conley
Efraim smiled as he stepped into the cell, careful not to break eye contact. When the lock behind him slammed shut like the bolt of a Mauser, he did not flinch. “Odd you should have demons on your mind, Colonel. I doubt they would bother someone who has so completely purged the memories of the atrocities he has committed.”

Chicken Tchoupitoulas by Flavian Mark Lupinetti
The diner fell silent. Every eye in the place locked on to Joe-Claude as he stood and placed a five dollar bill next to his plate. “Renounce Satan, Padre? He don’t mess with me, I don’t mess with him.”

Poetry

Poem for the Television by Kristen McHenry

Five Minutes to Lunch by Aurelio Rico Lopez III