Golem
A story about how mothers shape daughters.
Picadillo
Raquel, a bookstore clerk of Cuban descent, is unsettled by a bizarre customer who confronts her about her culture.
A Lie, A Hope, A Piece, A Promise: From the Operative Record of Dr. Baba Yaga
With the help of her therapist, Dr. Yaga works hard to manage her addiction, but some days are more challenging than others.
House—Unpainted
A house down the street catches my attention. It sits half painted, the other half peeling white, with a quarter of the driveway paved. The cracks are still visible. A shadow passes by one window in the upper level. It looks like my daughter. I know it can’t be. I left her shadow inside the new house.
Mona Luna
If you never met her, you’d think she was a real nice lady, yeah. Good with kids, never kicked no dog. Never sang a hymn out of tune. On Tuesdays and Thursdays she works down at the shelter, handing out socks and toothbrushes.
I go barefoot in my boots rather than take a single thing from Mona Luna.
Just Smile
A bartender educates a patron on why he should never, ever tell a woman to “just smile.”
The Atoll
We take shelter next to a low shelf of rock and watch the sun die a slow death on the horizon; an angry red eye drowned in a blaze of orange and yellow. Beneath it, the ocean is flat. A rippling, endless mirror, all of it one terrible display of beauty waiting to devour us like it did Hannah.
Traces of Us, Hot Enough for Dinner
On the anniversary of her fiancee’s death, our protagonist finds herself in a time loop where demons flood in every night and tear everyone to shreds.
Tabula Rasa
Eve, a single mother whose dreams of becoming an artist were shattered by an unplanned pregnancy, struggles with escalating feelings of resentment and regret that threaten her sanity—and the safety of her young daughter.
Strap Your Bones Right to the Seat
Mason Reed has never taken the bus to school, but after his family moves, he is left with no choice. But what should have been a pleasant experience according to his bedtime stories, turns out to be a menacing challenge beyond anything he could have anticipated.