Swimming Sterility

HUBRIS CONTEST:

I’m a fish, except I swim between kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom.

I sterilize, wash, wipe, dry. Watch episodes of Barry and Curb Your Enthusiasm, semblances of entertainment before the virus.

I’m swimming in sterile fishbowls.

Some nights, I open windows. I absorb tree branches shifting, the tenderness of a fleeting breeze. I absorb the thump of distant speakers. Wear widened eagerness, an expression I thought I suppressed.

Some nights, I try to step out among bars, laughter, bodies.

Some nights I make it a block. Two, even.

But I retreat. Wide eyes sink into submission.

Brave fish are always doomed.From Guest Contributor Yash Seyedbagheri

Yash is a graduate of Colorado State University's MFA program in fiction. A native of Idaho, Yash’s work is forthcoming or has been published in WestWard Quarterly, Café Lit, and Ariel Chart, among others.

To The Sci-fi Gazette

The SciFi Gazette--shining beacon of non-cliché speculative fiction. Submission guidelines had listed discouraged themes; ‘dystopias’ were number one: bad news for a pessimist like myself.

The state of the world sank home for me when The Gazette’s most hackneyed theme changed to ‘utopias.’ Still, they never published my bleak predictions.

I’d intended to kick down the door, but it already hung on its hinges. Scattered papers decorated shattered furniture. I luckily bagged a tatty anthology edition for later reading.

The editor was, of course, not there. On her desk, I deposited my latest story. I had high hopes--my first utopia.

From Guest Contributor Tris Matthews

A Woodpecker

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We're taking a short break for the holidays, but I would like to share a story of mine that just got published in Loreli. A Woodpecker is a story about my time living in Beijing. A warning: it's not flash fiction, but a full-on short story, more than 6,000 words.

For my American readers, enjoy the holiday. For everyone, keep submitting your stories. I'd much rather be sharing your stories in this place rather than my own.

That is all.

When The End Comes, It Will Be Abrupt

Hello everyone. I wanted to share a story of mine that got published on Flash Fiction Magazine. It is entitled "When The End Comes, It Will Be Abrupt," and takes place in a world with a dying sun. I hope you like it.

Thanks to everyone at Flash Fiction Magazine, not only for publishing my story, but for also running a great site for short fiction. If you've never been to their site, I highly recommend it.