Let Shadows Slip Through Kali Napier Illustration by Heather Parr The Pinnacles are an hour behind us but I’m still jittery. I check on him in the rear-view mirror. He’s okay, bent over a picture book, his dark thick hair—like mine, not his father’s, which is red and thin—hanging over his face. ‘Billy,’ I […]
Plumage
Plumage Nadine Rodriguez Illustration by Lauren Raye Snow Alejandra had not dreamt of becoming a groundskeeper when she was a child. Even if she had, there was no possible way her parents would have let the dream bloom. They had always pushed her towards a series of career options, filling her bookshelf with books […]
Red Sky At Morning
Red Sky At Morning Alanna Smith Illustrated by Katiana Robles They left Boston around seven and reached the Outer Banks just as the sun merged with the western horizon. “Red sky at night,” Cassie said, forehead pressed against the cool window glass. The AC system was still broken, and even mild April temperatures […]
This Is My Body, Given For You
This Is My Body, Given For You Heather Parry Illustration by Joseph Gough Content warning: Graphic bodily imagery and themes of sexual assault Fermentation No visitors, no letters, no laughing nor playing. They were children no longer; they were servants of God. They lived in cement cells with thin mattresses on the beds […]
Ephemera
Ephemera Holly Kybett Smith Illustration by Zuzanna Kwiecien There’s a church on the Crest of St. Francis, though few have lived to see it. That is, few have lived to see it with their naked eyes. We’ve all seen the postcards, glossy and inviting, peeling at the corners now. We’ve all thumbed the […]
Sometimes They Arrive Late
Sometimes They Arrive Late Rebecca Parfitt Illustration by Julia Wytrazek It was rainy season in the Philippines. The locals hunkered down underneath porches and tarpaulin, the rain poured off their rooftops in waterfalls. Charcoal burned in street barbecues as chicken feet sizzled and chunks of pork belly turned on spits; rice steamed in […]