The Night in Question

by G.J. Williams

It’s a beautiful night. There’s no one drowning in the lake. If there were, the moon would be shedding a pearly light on the fact. But no such commotion. Barely a ripple. Silky all the same. Definitely silky.

Yes, a beautiful night was had by all. That’s what they’ll say. Peaceful it was. Then came dawn.

What happened at dawn? I haven’t yet decided. But this night will be the one in question.

Presents

by Peter Burr

Jack devoured his 28th birthday tenderloin with his mother and grandmother, flung his China plate at the dining room wall, and left.

“That dinner was mostly nice,” Jack’s mom said, gathering shards, “but I really wanted to sing the song and pass the chocolate cake.”

“What was all that about?” Jack’s grandmother said.

“Jack’s efforts to find a job have fallen short and I’m tired of having him around. Today I delivered his two week notice. He’s reacting. We’re all trying to figure things out in this life.”

“Yes,” Jack’s grandmother said, “but some try a lot harder than others.”

After the Invasion

by Darcie Johnson

We sat cross-legged by the campfire, the sounds of our parents grilling burgers over the crackling fire drowned out our whispered giggles. Our lives seemed full of possibilities.

That was the night everything changed.

Their ashen ships descended from above, no pretense of coming in peace. As the fighting began, our futures were forgotten as our childhoods vanished like smoke from that last campfire.

Decades of war aged us, but after years of fighting and losing so many, we finally won.

Now, we sit around fires again telling tales to the youngest of life before. What we will build again.