Category: short story
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Kristallnacht on Repeat
Patches of peach-white crash into coffee stains On the hands and face Bleach peppered band tees form a net for the Mittens who have held so many ripe fruits And rotten babies, mostly boys Green stalks bend showing reverence as she Saunters by, eyes glittering with knowing They don’t tell her much-her face is a…
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Stressed Out, Stressed Out, Stressed Out!
My shoulders live above my ears now. As a matter of fact, they just put a dreamcatcher up above their bed. Tomorrow, they plan to make a “thing” out of going to IKEA to look for rugs. They feel good about the move. Just enough room in the back for a compost heap and a…
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Songs About Chocolate
These days, I walk about as if you don’t exist. Please forgive me. I don’t do any of it to hurt you. I made a promise to him, and I want to keep it. Lying is one of the things that will bring a marriage to ruin, much like money problems, or infidelity. I have…
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Because Kids Are Creepy
My toes searched for the other end of the tub. The house was quiet, and although I was expecting guests, the usual feelings of anxiety and inadequacy that usually did double-dutch in my mind when guests were set to come must have been taking a lemonade break. I was calm. No, better than that. I…
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“Foreign Domestic Aide”
So far, America was terrible. Cindy put her feet on the ground. Her toes were greeted with dried up rice grains. The grooves in the carpet told tales of pacing, and gross neglect. People had clearly cried here. She struggled to sleep that first night, until the woman who ran the house, Winsome came in…
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“Strange Fields”
“I’m glad we finally got out, Clo. Things have been crazy between us. Tonight made me realize we need each other. I don’t ever want to be without you again.” Gregory bent down to touch his wife’s face. She looked up at him in agreement. They had been separated for a month, thinking maybe their…
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Maybe
Maybe I didn’t know her that well until recently. She says we had a class together in undergrad. I don’t remember that. Most days, I was staring out the window, thinking about what to eat, or which girls were next on my list. It was a miracle I had made it to college. Not that…
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KVille
New short-longish story. The first two chapters. 1. Kenny was fucking stressed. He sat in the train wishing he had just killed himself as planned, but that bitch of a monitor sat across from him constantly asking questions without moving a muscle like he was her son or something. The sun was a bright orange…
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The Strong Black Woman
Not even a week ago, I gave birth to my second baby. That felt weird to type, but I am growing through it. My labor started on a Friday. I was at home telling my husband, not husband (more on that later) I had a pain in my side that wouldn’t go away no matter…
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oh mr. sun
The calla lily groaned, and stretched in her pot as the water coursed through her arms. It had been a long week. There was no water. When the woman left in the daytime, the windows remained closed. The lily and all the other plants would just sit around with their tongues out until she got…
LSSmith 