An Alien Abroad
Cellular Hierarchies, Effie Jia Dear Mom, My year abroad is off to a good start. It’s a bit chilly, but I’m told that’s normal for this time of year. People…
Cellular Hierarchies, Effie Jia Dear Mom, My year abroad is off to a good start. It’s a bit chilly, but I’m told that’s normal for this time of year. People…
Junglescape, Meagan Dwyer I was 5 years old when I learned how to pronounce my mother’s name. I’d started to learn enough letter sounds in kindergarten to string a few…
Light and Dark, Grace Long Harold Orwin was well respected in the anarcho-punk community. And understandably so. He wore black denim jackets with anti-government patches, beaten boots with worn cotton laces,…
facetime, Saber Paustian Ever since Cecilia Harrison’s father told her that no one ate cinnamon raisin bagels anymore, she had made it her personal mission to order only cinnamon raisin…
Golgi, Soren Carlson-Donohue “Don’t slouch, Gazelle, you look like an alley cat.” Sister’s chidings are lost on me now as I sit on our steps. Her steps. My steps now.…
Moving Forward, Brittany Lenze The day Summer disappeared, you were at home, feverish and ready for the phone to ring. You’d been waiting for that phone call all morning, hovering moth-like…
On the Edge of the Falls, Sarah Moore Some things I’m afraid of: that the burglars have taken the DVD player but not the VCR, climate change, a library book…
Hands, Katherine Rogers Shannon wipes her hands down the front of her apron. She has nine rooms left on this floor, and she’s supposed to be off work in two hours.…
The Battle of Antietam in Technicolor, Alexandra Moleski Annie smears pink paint onto the apple of my cheek with her index finger, raising it up to my cheekbone and then dragging…
Element of Speech, Bethany Dudek There are 206 bones in the human body. This is a fact. The first time it heard it, my sister Shauna was mocking, “there is…
I Believe in Laundry, Julia Tasho When Vera had got litters before she had been in the woods and she had made little canopies out of leaves with her snout to…
The Grass is Never Greener, Vinnie Hagar I start with the IKEA bookshelf I bought to display the volumes of Vonnegut and Fitzgerald and Nabokov that my brother gave me when…
Shadows, Amanda Wisbeck Your son isn’t crying. The crowd shuffles along, their suits and black dresses a stark contrast against the bright blue sky and beaming sun. Your wife walks beside…
For Sale, Jess Mezzi In Spanish, the word for “moon” and “sun” are feminine and masculine, respectively. My mother told me it was because the moon represents women and the…
Study of Myself, Bella Pozo The bell above the chapel does not ring anymore. Midnight comes and goes with no herald. Sister Mary Monica is used to silence,…
Grandma’s Cupcake Stand, Jessica Ashworth As an adult, Desmond P. Merina will claim that Sunday, October 6, 1991 is the most significant day of his life because it is the day…
ano nakikita Mo?, harana After a few minutes of watching people walk through the cold wind my now ex asked me if I was ready. We were waiting…
World’s Finest, Chloe Hiu See Tsang I hope you get stung in the face by a bee while you help your dad tear down the rotting swingset in the backyard, the…
Two Rivers Meet, Rebecca Turnbull We were driving through the marshes of the Meadowlands on our way to Newark when my mother forgot where she was for…
Do You See It, Mommy?, Hannah Elizabeth High PICTURE IT: In the dark parking garage at the Towson mall, bottom floor, standing by the elevator at 10:32 PM, a girl checking…
Tomato Menace and Floral Rabbit, Jury St. Judge Nothing’s a secret once you know about it. The jewel beetles became a regularity in the…
Untitled, Zachary Vaughn My walk home would be pleasant—would be rather beautiful, really, with the sunset turning the sky all sorts of colors—if it weren’t for the damned bells ringing…