Psychological
The Things Love Leaves Behind
In this city, magic didn’t glow. It stained. The rain that night tasted like old copper and burnt herbs, the kind of drizzle that seeped into your coat and your conscience at the same time. I pulled my collar up and waited under the awning of a pawnshop that sold cursed objects at honest prices, which is to say: none of them were cheap, and none of them were safe.
By Alain SUPPINI14 days ago in Fiction
Still Life with Woman
Despite my youth and supposed good health, I had recently felt under the weather. In recent days, to be precise, I had felt my body slowly seizing up, heavier. It started in my fingers and toes: a loss of the freedom of movement expected for those digits at the extremities of my healthy body. Not exactly painful, but neither was it a piece of cake. After a day of that, I retired to bed, expecting to wake fully refreshed and better the next day.
By Paul Stewart15 days ago in Fiction
Something is Beginning
Something is Beginning Wait! What? Why? Mike was so glad to be home. Prison had been more horrible than anyone can imagine. Sixteen years for a crime he didn’t commit and had no part in. A rather violent rape that had left the girl completely disabled. She had apparently been waiting for her sister to appear and didn’t see the man coming at her. The park was dark and quiet, broken only by the sound of Sandy gasping for air as her attacker held his hand over her mouth. He had brutalized her for almost 20 minutes before passing strangers happened by. She had been beaten so badly, the doctors weren’t sure she would recover, if she even survived.
By Barbara Gode Wiles15 days ago in Fiction
The Last Message Sent at 11:59. Content Warning. AI-Generated.
At exactly 11:59 p.m., every phone in the city buzzed at the same time. No notification sound anyone recognized. No app logo. Just a single message on a black screen:“You have one minute to remember.”
By Gabriel Waltone15 days ago in Fiction
In the Midst of Life
It was one of those rare late March days in the Deep South, which came on with a surprising vengeance. Already the roads, houses, and cars were covered with the fine pinkish dust more typical of June or July, after temperatures had climbed into the nineties for the ten days past. A bead of sweat rolled down Caitlyn’s nose as she slowed her car. She stopped at the intersection. A strand of limp gold hair had escaped from her scrunchie. She pushed the strands behind her ear, barely sparing a thought for the motion.
By Kimberly J Egan15 days ago in Fiction
Compound Growth
The first thing Marcus noticed was Derek's skin. It wasn't dramatic—not at first. Just a certain smoothness to his colleague's face during the Monday morning standup, a tightness around the jaw that hadn't been there Friday. Derek had always been soft, doughy in that way of men who'd stopped caring somewhere around their second divorce. But now his cheeks held a new geometry. His neck no longer folded into his collar.
By Destiny S. Harris15 days ago in Fiction
THE WEIGHT OF A DIAMOND. Honorable Mention in Mismatch Challenge.
The harbour was at its most generous that night. Light spilled across the water in long, trembling ribbons, the city glittering as though it had dressed itself expressly for us. Champagne rose in pale, frantic bubbles, glasses refilled before they were empty, before desire had time to cool.
By Leeza-Bridget Cooper15 days ago in Fiction
₩hen ₣⬭rbidde₦ ⎣⭗v∑ Drew ⚬n〰 In₹xplicable ✧〰 🔫 ₮∈⊂hη⭔↳⭔ℊγ T⚬⇴Carry ⚬ut the ₮∈☈☈ible ⊅∑structi⚬n ⚬f 🅱isbee, 🅰riΖ⚬na. Winner in Mismatch Challenge.
⚡🌵↯~Located in the Mule Mountains of southern Arizona is the Sonoran desert. In the Year of Our Lord 1880, troves of minerals & metals were discovered in that rocky terrain by a prospector named Judge DeWitt Bisbee.
By Lightning Bolt ⚡15 days ago in Fiction
Happy VD. Content Warning.
Something was definitely wrong. I’d always laughed about burning piss, but holy fuck, this was no joke. My dick felt like it was on fire, and not in the good way. I’d been on the prowl a lot since Debbie dumped me, tagging a groupie at every gig. Best way to get over one woman is to get over another few.
By Harper Lewis15 days ago in Fiction
