Tooth Appointment Ben Larned __________ You don’t remember your last visit to the dentist. It’s been two years, maybe three. All the way here your gums itch. The waiting room has a sickly hue, a chemical smell that reminds you of metal scraping and drills whirring. If it weren’t for…
Read MoreJaden Fong __________ Eviction Notice from the Tooth Fairy I fear that I have offended my teeth. They are as loose in my gums, bucking broncos in a gingivae stadium, but please, do not abduct them yet– these teeth do not know what is good for them. They have been…
Read MoreQuinton Okoro __________ jesus lost his milk teeth all at once. he placed them, still warm, pulp still clinging to crown, into his mother’s hand. she bent over him, her palm flattened with expectation. these will make a great gift for your father, mary said. jesus thought of joseph, his…
Read MoreSnappers/The Man on the Mattress Robb T. White __________ “You’re probably wondering what’s going on, right?” Asking yourself, ‘What happened’? ‘Where the hell am I?’ Can’t say I blame you,” he said, watching his eyes focus as he tried to turn his head one way and then the other. They…
Read MoreThe Dentist, The Bootlegger Meghan Louise Wagner __________ The drops went the same each month. I kept my hair under my cap and let Julian do the talking. After the boss counted the crates, he’d crack into a random bottle to sample. He’d take a couple glugs, swish, then nod…
Read MoreThe Death of Harold Cassidy Colton Huelle __________ In the days following Harold Cassidy’s death, Joy’s Facebook feed was clogged with lengthy tributes to the late novelist and links to even lengthier blog posts about his contribution to American literature. Writers and critics of all stripes crawled out of the…
Read MoreSilhouette of a Girlhood Meghana Mysore __________ Lakshmi winced when she heard a thudding from upstairs. The kettle was on for chai, and its whistle grew from a tame whisper to a high-pitched scream. She turned off the kettle and ran upstairs to the bathroom where Mamatha took her showers.…
Read MoreMan on the Moon Christine Williams __________ Camille saw it as a good omen. The most outspoken of all friends who doubted your intentions with me, she changed her tune when I told her about your team’s bachata social last week, when you’d reached for my hand during performances, and…
Read MoreOlympians Kent Kosack __________ The kick becomes a glide in a graceful shuffle as Jon’s skis cruise along the cross-country trails carved into the ice-crusted snow of Lapland Lake, his body cruising with them, his thoughts and fears and hopes and memories cruising too, concurrent, behind, ahead, the same groomed…
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