Birthday Bones
The story’s the same every year. Light the candles, blow them out, eat the cake. I smile while everyone sings, I party with my friends, I have a few drinks,…[...]
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The Super Pals
Have you ever slept through your alarm and had to skip breakfast? Have you ever wished for more protein in the morning than what bland oatmeal could provide? Have you…[...]
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The Stage Stop
Thomas Cooper pressed his forehead against the cold panes of the front window, watching snowflakes swirl in the gathering dusk. The glass held the bite of Wyoming Territory’s fierce spring…[...]
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Annexation
“I’m…sorry? What was that?” The woman, Melissa asked. “Hard of hearin’ ain’t ya?” A man with a black cowboy hat, Bill Jones, sneered. Although she didn’t see it now, his…[...]
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Toodle-oo, Mayor
Ottentail, Arizona 1875 “Painter!” The man known throughout town only by his profession rolls onto his back, letting out a phlegmy cough. Skin and bones, with one sad grey eye…[...]
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Preacher Man
THE MORNING I stole my daddy’s gun, the summer heat had already baked the dew off the grass. I remember the metal felt warm when I wrapped it in my…[...]
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Take Me Home, Maureen
Fontanelle, Nebraska1882 Myles Killebrew coughs up blood. Doc Hurtz wipes Myles’ lips with a rag, saying, “It won’t be long now.” Deputy Tennessee Longacre mutters, “Good riddance” under his breath.…[...]
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Tea, No Sympathy
Peace Officer English stepped off his horse and greeted the men. He winked. “Well let me guess which one of you gentlemen I’m taking in”. The men laughed. Three of…[...]
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Old Fruit Stains
Alma, with everything she ever owned shuffling and bouncing in the back of her truck, chewed on the already sore part of her lip. Going 90 on the back road…[...]
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Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom
My dad lives in this time and space, riding his motorcycle about the neighborhood barefooted, in cutoff jeans and old t-shirt, black curls blowing high above his forehead in the…[...]
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Devil’s Pit, Arizona
The desert wind blows dry and hot. The sky is pale blue due to the lack of moisture. Beneath the cloudless sky rides a solitary rider slumped in his saddle, his head…[...]
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Annie’s rising
ANNIE’S RISING The ground yielded to Annie Lawson as she slammed down the arrow shaped head of her hoe and cracked the sun-baked clay. This hard-won soil was to be…[...]
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How could I have know?
I can still feel the disgusting warmth on my hands, even to this day. Even if all my memories were to fade, that feeling would still haunt me. I have…[...]
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Pinkie’s Promise
Note: This story contains a scene of accidental death. It describes cruelty toward animals. It includes a letter written from the perspective of a combatant in wartime, describing some of…[...]
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Ruby Dreams
RUBY DREAMS Incorporating annotated excerpts from a greater work (Brave Rivers That Dream of the Sea) concerning a Confederate exile in Mexico, and a broken hacienda wherein live Ruby and…[...]
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Duel with a Devil at Sundown
“Yeah, that’ll work. ‘Unholy demon, Lord of the Flies, my name is John Westlake, and this is my band. With their help, I would challenge you to a guitar battle.’” …[...]
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THE SHORTY HARRIS STORY
THE SHORTY HARRIS STORYAn infamous ‘Jackass Prospector’ set out to find fortune. He found it, lost it, and kept searching; only to realize, in the end, what he truly valued.…[...]
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The Travels of Dr. Rebecca Harper
The Travels of Dr. Rebecca Harper You’re not gonna believe this… I grew up watching television Westerns. I always wanted to ride with Matt Dillon, the Bonanza boys, and Jim…[...]
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Chasing Ghosts
I always hated Fort Bridger.The way they draped the flag over the Johnson family general store shopfront sign didn't sit right with me. It felt symbolic–like our own army had…[...]
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Dancing on Air
Mammoth, Arizona1888 Mayor Cash Ridley gazes out of his second-floor office window at the carriages and horses navigating through Mammoths’s dusty streets, speaking with his back to Deputy Mayor Stephen…[...]
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On a Gut Feeling
“You burn your dead here?”“Yeah,” the deputy said, his attention quickly drawing away.Georgia Lasko looked to where the deputy and the few hundred gathered townsfolk were staring. A cart was…[...]
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His name was Death
In a society built on the ideals of man, who can truly say what is morally good, and what makes you a villain?In our own minds, we are never truly…[...]
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With His Boots On
IN THE EAST, a faint rose and gold ethereal light hinted at dawn breaking through the deep indigo of the night. Nathaniel Everett sat still on the weathered porch steps…[...]
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Twelve Minutes Before Sunrise
Nebraska Prairie, 1892“I ain’t goin’ back, I told you.” Jacob grabbed the reins harder, steering the rumbling wagon toward the bruised-looking horizon.“I want Mama! Even that dang baby. Daddy’s gonna’…[...]
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Bullets and Gold
Bullets and Gold*** Graverobber. He still remembers the first time he was called that. It was only a couple days ago but it felt like months. Then it kept happening.…[...]
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Beneath the dust
Cowboy boots crunched on the desert ground, creating a cloud of dirt. Saguaro cacti rose high to the blistering sun above, their spines protruding from their arms. Closer to the…[...]
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Starlit Mirage: Tales from the Darkest Desert
The town of Starlit Mirage got its name from the countless stories travelers told at the local saloon, The Black Rose. You see, Starlit Mirage is the only speck of…[...]
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Inheritence
The sun was sinking behind the treeline when John first glimpsed the town. His old wagon had creaked and groaned along the last mile of disused path. A dozen days…[...]
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Trial by Silence: Tales from the Darkest Desert
The town of Starlit Mirage is a relatively lawless town according to Samuel Slater, a man in his late twenties that is wearing a lite tan two piece suit, with…[...]
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In Conclusion: 33 Dead & a Turkey for Dinner
In the gray twilight of the hour that precedes the coming of the sun, forms are difficult to make out. Sight seems dimmed and untrustworthy. The whole world appears to…[...]
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Amongst Men and Bears, Follow the Dogs
TW: mention of dementiaThe unincorporated town of Pray, Montana, lies within the Paradise Valley against the backdrop of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. The town itself is a small collection of weathered…[...]
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Working Girl
Working GirlThe newly arrived settlers had been making sacrifices to accommodate requests made by the Southern Kansas Stage Line. They were considering accepting the offer of opening a rest station…[...]
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Mathematical Showdown
CECIL HIGGINS counted heartbeats like other men counted coins. Precise. Methodical. The drunk swaying twenty-six feet away had an elevated pulse—112 beats per minute, visible in the filthy neck above…[...]
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The Light in the Darkness: Tales from the Darkest Desert
“Sometimes God sends angels down to earth to enact his will. They come disguised as regular folk like you and me, but they have been touched by His divine grace.…[...]
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Redemption or Damnation: Tales from the Darkest Desert
“I reckon this town ain’t got much longer. The demons have been more rowdy these past few months. Nearly lost you, girl.” Riley Roswell, nineteen years old, brushes his loyal…[...]
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The Founding of Perdition
I WAS SITTING in a corner of what’s now one of the town’s respectable dining establishments, with linen napkins and decent wine. The floor still tilts in back, and the…[...]
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The Problem of Distinction
CW: This story contains crass, well-meaning humor. The gloam of late evening bestowed the withered sage grass with a tinged vermillion sheen as the stranger rode into town high atop…[...]
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The Strange Case of Samson Evot
I met him in the early summer of ‘83. The time of year when you could see cattle drives over the hills and the brothels were in good business. The…[...]
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The Untold Chapters Of Her Soul
Sarah and Jonah kept running in circles around their new masterpiece in the sand. They had made a little cottage in the sand, which Sarah claimed would be her future…[...]
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The Crossroads at High Noon
The sun beat down on Luke MacGruder as he strode down the wagon track. His spurs clicked with each step, and drops of sweat beaded on the tip of his…[...]
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Dreams Are Only Regrets
TW: Violence, death, mention of blood It was a sweet thing upon the morning light. Sweet with enough bitterness in its afterthought to nearly choke him.She was there, holding that…[...]
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Horton Played It Fast and Loose
Cockerville, New Mexico1888 The hotel’s front desk clerk gazes sleepily at the reporter’s business card. He checks him over, thinking the bespeckled, slightly built man with the slate gray eyes…[...]
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Monday, October 28, 1878
The sun burned in the high in the sky, passing a judgment all its own. The prisoner, led out by Sheriff Bonjure, shuffled in black leg irons, dry dust from…[...]
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Temporal Displacement
We have all heard the rumors that on the Island, people travel in time. They go back and do god knows what, playing with our history. If they made a…[...]
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Resembling the Past
He limped back to his seat to the back of the train, when a vision caused him to stop in his tracks. Stopping too quickly to check his thoughts on…[...]
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At the Lords Bequest
CW: Mature themes 1886It is late in the afternoon in Longbend. A dust storm is coating the town with coarse dirt, dusting the settlement like a decorative cake. Travellers have…[...]
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Silent Fury
The sky burned with silent fury as the shuttle arched its ascent into the dark spaces above the sea of dunes. With any luck, it will reach a planet like…[...]
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At the Lords Bequest
CW: Mature themes 1886It is late in the afternoon in Longbend. A dust storm is coating the town with coarse dirt, dusting the settlement like a decorative cake. Travellers have…[...]
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i am home, stupid
“The longer you look at me, the less beautiful I feel.”“How do you like to feel?”“Beautiful.”“I don’t mean to be a nuisance.”“It’s just your looking.”“Suppose I’ll stop then.”“Would be best.”He…[...]
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i am home, stupid
“The longer you look at me, the less beautiful I feel.”“How do you like to feel?”“Beautiful.”“I don’t mean to be a nuisance.”“It’s just your looking.”“Suppose I’ll stop then.”“Would be best.”He…[...]
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The End of The Road
He wears a brown-and-white-checkered shirt with buttons. He stays in motels and out of bars, and the only sound he hears is the turn signal in his ‘98 Buick LaSabre.…[...]
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The End of The Road
He wears a brown-and-white-checkered shirt with buttons. He stays in motels and out of bars, and the only sound he hears is the turn signal in his ‘98 Buick LaSabre.…[...]
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The Ungentling
Bill’s disappeared upstairs with the little sickly girl but me I’m here to see the blind woman. I hear she did it on purpose, tore donkey tail out of the…[...]
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The Ungentling
Bill’s disappeared upstairs with the little sickly girl but me I’m here to see the blind woman. I hear she did it on purpose, tore donkey tail out of the…[...]
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The Ungentling
Bill’s disappeared upstairs with the little sickly girl but me I’m here to see the blind woman. I hear she did it on purpose, tore donkey tail out of the…[...]
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The Ungentling
Bill’s disappeared upstairs with the little sickly girl but me I’m here to see the blind woman. I hear she did it on purpose, tore donkey tail out of the…[...]
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A STORY OF LOVE AND DESTINY
“I have always believed in the power of destiny, Radhika! I sincerely hoped that one day I would call you my own. But I now realized that we are not…[...]
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A Cold Day….
A Cold Day… It has started raining again. And it is bitterly cold. Looks like Delhi is heading towards a severe cold wave, with the night temperature plummeting to near…[...]
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Corner Art
For as long as she could remember, tendrils, peacocks, and rangolis ran amok in Suchi’s head. And leaped out at her notebooks. The public school she went to, close to…[...]
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A Tense Dinner
“So how was the ride here?” “Good.” “That’s good.” Shit! That’s all I had. I turned my attention towards the kitchen behind us, they were lining up the buffet trays.…[...]
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The Crazy Psychologist
Disclaimer: The following contains graphic scene involving snakes as well as abuse and strong language. Reader discretion advised.Varun Sharma had life long fear of snakes. Black mambas, anacondas, rattle snakes,…[...]
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Bani’s Tree
Code 278.43A. That’s where ‘Lady Grace’ was, right behind the stunted tree that hit the ceiling and hid an owl in its hollow. In a ladylike fashion, Bani hopped on…[...]
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Party Time
On the day of her flight, Sarlaben set out on the same morning walk to the Radha Krishna temple she’d taken for the past 43 years. Her driver, Santosh, could…[...]
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Lemons, Ginger and Garlic
"Does the presence of something outweigh its absence? Or is it the other way around?" I said to no one in specific, communally munching on Garlic Naan and Haleem with…[...]
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The Morsel that Counts
My mother has always said that the best way to make your place in someone’s heart is to feed them great food. Growing up this was something I heard far…[...]
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The Guy On The Nineteenth Floor
I was walking down the paved road, struggling to hold my umbrella in one hand and my files and handbag in the other. It was raining heavily accompanied by strong…[...]
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Woollen Suits and Face Cream
He was always there, in the sounds of his suggestions, in the unspoken glances when she acted out of turn, the cheeky winks he gave when he made a joke…[...]
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Picture Perfect
Although there had been a nice, cool breeze the whole day, the crumpled paper that smacked her in the face with that sudden gust of wind was totally unexpected. It…[...]
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Bittersweet
Warning: This story contains themes of childbirth.By Amanda StogsdillToday's the day! Scrambling out of bed, I rushed to the window. Not a cloud in sight! In my open kitchen with…[...]
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The Goat Bite
She was different today. It is astonishing to witness a new side of someone you have spent years knowing and living beside. You question whether you had ever known them…[...]
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Me and My Uncle
The fortnight had come to its final day: The day to begin my journey back home, to life as it really is, had arrived. Though known and anticipated, it arrived abruptly.…[...]
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The Gravity of Being Upright
I think it had started to happen a long time back—bit by bit—but I only noticed it this morning. Gravity was dead. Like Queen Elizabeth. Both of them. Yesterday, it…[...]
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Umpire’s call -” Kalyug”
“Everyone I knew was glued to the TV, or their phonesThey had been waiting for this day for over three months. I was going to be on TV during on…[...]
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The Ninja from the Suburbs
Note: Contains scenes of violence and brief mention of mental health"I am sorry, ma'am, " the out-of-shape, African-American woman FAA officer interjected my mother politely. "We can't let you carry…[...]
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Resolution
Keerat pursed her lips and grimaced. She turned her head to the left and then quickly to the right, doing her absolute best to avoid making eye contact with the…[...]
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Boiling Point
He gazed absently at the black kettle, his reflection looking back at him like a stranger. Nice cup of tea. That’s what we need. A faint humming of a song…[...]
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Guess what? I’m related to Frankenstein
“” That was the last text message Amir sent me. I had so many questions like “Isn’t Frankenstein just a story?” and “How’d you find out?”. But he left me on…[...]
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Friendship Matters
My name is Ria. I'm British Asian with Mauritian roots, the founder and CEO of HR Matters. People tell me I have everything, brains, beauty, love and wealth. But what people…[...]
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