The Other Side Of The Fence

Louis woke up to the sound of construction coming from outside the window. He groggily pulled the bedroom curtains back to find his neighbor erecting a wooden barrier on his side of the hedge lining their property.

After putting on a bathrobe and grabbing a cup of coffee, Louis worked up the courage to speak with Frank. They rarely communicated.

"It's an extra layer of protection."

"Protection from what?"

"From any and all dangers emerging from your side of the hedge. We don't take kindly to outsiders in these parts."

"Frank, we've lived next door to you for thirty years."

For the prompt Frontier

Getsulma

On the highest motorable road in the world, H. tells me she's thinking of staying. Yesterday, a nun named Khunzes declined to tell H. her 36 vows – "Unless you become a nun." We laughed. Now we're not laughing.

But the street signs are still laughing:

Drive with care / makes accidents rare

After drinking whisky / driving is risky

Darling I like you / but not so fast

"So what do you want to do?" I ask. "Become a Ladakhi nun?"

"Would that be the end of the world?"

I don't know. We're on top of the world. I can't see the end.

From Guest Contributor Zachary Smolar

For the prompt Frontier

Headache

The pressure was excruciating; a hammer beating against my eyelids. I had headaches before, but this was bad enough to send chills down my body and put me in bed. All I could think about was how I would get through my job interview at three o’clock. It was eleven o’clock. I had three hours to let the pain subside. I just had to relax and let the Ibuprofen take effect.

I awakened two hours later, refreshed and ready to take a shower, when I noticed a voicemail on my phone.

It was the company calling to reschedule the interview.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

A Parent's Nightmare

Her parents are concerned that her boyfriend is two dimensional. Living entirely in one plane would limit his prospects. If the relationship became serious, they could predict he would become their ward, unable to hold a job in three dimensions. They could see the two of them moving into her bedroom, taking up domestic residence under their roof. She would argue they likely could support themselves on her waitressing income, he needing little in his flat world. But then: children. The simple geometry must be astounding. And the – then - grandparents would be always explaining to those not at the wedding.

From Guest Contributor Ken Poyner

For the prompt Frontier

Daredevil

The first time Ben died in his dream was liberating. He'd always been told that if you got killed while you were sleeping, you'd never wake up again, but it turns out that's just a myth.

Now Ben is a complete daredevil when he's dreaming. Right before he falls asleep, as he's just about to cross into the unknown frontier of the night, he visualizes all the ways he will flirt with danger, whether it's jumping off a cliff in order to fly or walking into a burning building to save some puppies.

If only real life worked that way.

For the prompt Frontier

9 Months

For 9 months things had been great. But now Mel was in the birth canal. He faced the Delivery Room, Dr. Fromberg, the obstetrician, and then the whole extra-uterine frontier. He didn't like it. He dug in his heels and tried to crawl back.

But Dr. Fromberg didn't care. He’d dealt with problems like Mel before. When it came to pulling neonates into their so-called lives, he was prepared to do so. After all, he'd been yanked into his life 53 years before.

Yes, the first thing Mel did in this new frontier was cry… And could anyone blame him?

From Guest Contributor David Sydney

Sacrifice

I freeze when they emerge: two cubs accompanying their mother out of the woods, nosing the lanky grass, their progress benign but intent. In another life, another form, I could have been a bear lumbering languidly across the wilderness seeking sustenance for my brood. Then and now, I mean no harm. Then and now, neither does she. Yet I know she would fight to the death for the innocence beside her; at the dawn of life, they know nothing but her protection.

I step backwards slowly, grip my whistle, close the door, and watch as they tear down the birdfeeder.

From Guest Contributor Faye Rapoport DesPres

For the prompt Frontier

Fingertips to Her Shoulders Like Wings in Her Sleep

She is a bird perched on this moment, holding tight to the splintering branch of the past even while the warm chinook of now swirls up from the canyon whispering promises to her flight feathers, visions of vistas that shudder up through the tunnels in her hollow bones. The hurricane of her hair twists in the wind as she stretches, inches closer to dreams of silence deeper than the abyss of midnight sheets. There is no cage that can hold her, no rope that can bind her, no dead story that can stand before her when she decides

to fly.

From Guest Contributor Brook Bhagat

Frontier

The steep hills and rugged terrain bordered the frontier. Untamed wildlife lay ahead as I stepped into the wilderness on my hunt for food. I promised my wife we’d make a good home. It’s difficult at times, but we managed.

I heard an ominous sound nearby; crunching branches. I turned and pointed my rifle. Before me stood a grizzly bear at least ten feet tall. He growled and started toward me. I pulled the trigger and he fell into a heap. He let out his last breath and stilled.

He was protecting his home; I couldn’t fault him for that.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

For the prompt Frontier

Intergalactic

Edna and Ed Grumley had no idea they were at the very frontier of intergalactic space exploration that Saturday. Edna was on a double chaise lounge next to Ed in his Hawaiian Gonzo shirt. In the sky above...

Yes, a UFO from the Andromeda Galaxy hovered over Edna, Ed, and their above-ground pool.

“No. 385, this’s too much. Look at those two.”

“Look at that pool, No. 4078A.”

In all of Andromeda, they’d experienced nothing like Edna, Ed, or the dead flies and moths floating in the pool.

“You know, No. 385... You can push a frontier just so far…”

From Guest Contributor David Sydney

For the prompt Frontier