The stars saw her face, someone who wishes wildflowers never died, thunder always accompanied rain, and the sounds of the waves were something that left the shoreline. Even the tears she shed when she thought it was only her and the items of clothes on the floor because the mirror just did not look right. The stars saw the smile she wore when he cherished her in the dark and the tears she lost when she was left to her own company on the worst nights. Some nights the stars were enough. Some nights, she wished they would do more.

From Guest Contributor Caitriona Mullenix

At the beginning of my travels I lived in a reality where the US used Celsius. A temperature for a human was a 100 C. Body temperature was 97.8 C. How could that be? Blood flowed much much faster there. And reality spun up much faster too.

Meaning? Here they say 243 million years for an orbit of the Earth, while on a parallel Earth they said 1000 years. Begging the question how much faster is reality here? The big differences? Simple no known Black Holes? Yes. Abe Lincoln was a senator? Yes. Japan was off the coast of China.

From Guest Contributor Clinton Siegle

I tell myself I don’t belong here, and I don’t. The place is home to depressives, insomniacs, winos, recidivists. Trains pass through without whistling or slowing down. Meanwhile, stacks of coffins keep arriving in the dark by truck. The first thing I do most mornings is examine my face in the mirror for signs of fresh trauma. There was one morning when I asked Google if rainbow and potato rhyme. The answer came back, “Not exactly.” A handsome young drifter, stepping off the overnight bus from Providence, smiles plausibly while wearing a necklace of human ears tucked inside his shirt.

From Guest Contributor Howie Good

Howie’s latest book is Frowny Face, a mix of his prose poems and handmade collages from Redhawk Publications.

In front of the circus truck came a moving van and two old clunkers. People were finally moving into the house at the end of the cul-de-sac, which we’d all suspected was haunted. The circus truck double parked beside the moving van and out poured our old friends, the bearded lady and fortune teller, clutching his crystal ball, two sweet loveable clowns who rolled out smiling, somersaulting around the cul-de-sac. Soon our kids were busy taming the lions while the elephants practiced their counting and we gossiped about the new neighbors until one of them floated by and said hello.

From Guest Contributor Linda Lowe

The snow and wind pelted my face. The inclemency hadn’t started until I was half-way to the subway station, and people slipped across the pavement rushing to get home. Vehicles honked at pedestrians cutting in and out of lanes, so I had to be careful. I tried not to think about the numbing in my fingers after forgetting my gloves at home.

When the train arrived and I boarded, I knew it would be a matter of time before I’d be snug by the fireplace.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

The Old West had its deadly gunslingers like ‘Wild Bill’ Hickok, Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holliday. Then, there were poorer slingers like ’13-Shot’ Frank. Yes, Frank had lost 13 consecutive fights and had the bullets in him to prove it. Still, he limped on to his 31st birthday.

Was this the end? Doc Jenkins could handle wounds and fractures. But chronic lead poisoning was another matter.

From Guest Contributor David Sydney

When I stepped out of the car, I took a deep breath and cleared my mind.

I opened the door and entered the office only to be told by the receptionist that the manager had an emergency and I’d have to come back another day.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

Winter arrived early. Sheep were herded off the pasture. Leaves gathered by Pa stood statuesque in domed heaps.

He’ll learn all there’s to know about moles.

From Guest Contributor Krystyna Fedosejevs

Revelation 20 states that earth and heaven are burnt up. And? That the evil one is sent to earth to the lake of fire. Making earth in fact hell.

Meaning? Everything seems a bit off kilter or not going according to plan.

From Guest Contributor Clinton Siegle

The music thrummed and the people spasmed to the beat. They called it dancing. Martinez, observing from the shadows, thought it looked more like a crazed ritual or a medical disorder.

Her bosses at the enforcement authority feared the dancing would spread beyond the nursing home, but Martinez was certain no sane individual in the year 2045 would find pleasure in such deviant behavior.