The walk to the quarter was terrific, sunny but unoppressive, a non-totalitarian star. I was passing a navel orange between my right hand and my left. We stopped in the market to buy some sunglasses. I tried to haggle but I lost. Still tossing the orange back and forth, I said, I love the marketplace. I went to Mary Jane’s for some cigarettes, Ellie was … Continue reading Palm Sunday by Theo Francis

There was a lamp post outside of a prosperous house where sat a bench where sat a drunken boatman far from the shore on which he landed, tossed there over the course of some days by this wind and that, demurred by humbling experiences, bridled by wisdom, kept warm by the spirits imbibed out of a leaky pouch which never grew entirely empty, and even … Continue reading News From The Coast by Joshua Rothes

He was blind drunk by noon. At night he fixed the Tercel. He let the oil and the antifreeze sink into the lawn. It was fine. He owned the land. He hated the earth. There was no one around for miles. No one could hear him. No one could even if he stood outside and screamed until his lungs were emptied. Sometimes men came over. … Continue reading The Tercel At Night by Meagan Maguire

I don’t have to tell you I didn’t offer to pay for the Chinese food she ordered. We sat in the living room, a place I rarely hung around since my roommate, who was also named David, had more or less disappeared. Laura didn’t want to take the cat that wasn’t mine with her. She said, ―I wish I could but I just don’t have … Continue reading Walls of Gold by David Fishkind

The worst drug dealer in the world woke up that evening at about 6:45 P.M. He got out of bed. He scratched his taint then rubbed his eyes. He picked up a half finished, warm beer from the coffee table and choked it down. He walked over to the bathroom and sat on the toilet. The worst drug dealer in the world lit a cigarette … Continue reading The Worst Drug Dealer In The World by David Catney