Caring
By Jowita Bydlowska He looked exactly the same as he did on the Apps, in the picture with the baseball hat. He ordered a slice of bread with a vegan thing on it. It came with sauces that showed up in small fussy containers. The waitress wore her hair in a ponytail, straight like a […]
Billy and The Priest
By Luke Beling, Father Sampson took me in after I passed out on the curb near his church. He let me use his shower and gave me a clean set of clothes and a half-eaten peanut butter sandwich. Then, when he drove me back to Ma’s house, he told her I’d go to mass if […]
Rats in Disguise
By Danila Botha, I can still see myself standing there, the small, reused brown box in my open palm. My mom had to remind me that it was Aunt Felicia’s birthday, because I’d forgotten. I think all she wanted me to do was write her a card, but I did one better. I went into […]
The Washable Dream
By Kirsten Smith “Kindness. Compassion. Humanity.” Cherry had written Rand’s words in green permanent marker on a hot pink sticky note during her Support Agent orientation with Washable, what — thirteen, almost fourteen years ago? The paper had become stiff, curled vaguely at the bottom corners, and was yellowing in spots, as if stained by […]
The Ram’s Gift
By Leah Lax, Abraham woke early one morning, saddled his donkey himself (not a job to delegate, this sacrifice), and tied a bundle of kindling on the donkey’s back. “Are you coming?” he asked his daughter in an impatient tone. “Oh yes, Papa,” she said, and she went along. They walked side by side. She […]
Found and Lost: The Jake and Cait Story (Book Excerpt)
Found and Lost: The Jake and Cait Story chronicles the lives of two middle-aged musicians whose forty-year-old song accidentally goes viral, forcing them to navigate through fame, aging, regret, and new choices late in life. By Howard Lovy, June 2025 A crew seemed to arrive out of nowhere to handle the equipment setup. All Jake […]
The #ShabbatChallenge
By Leah Eichler It started as a TikTok and snowballed from there. In the original post, six 13-year-old girls from Shaliach, a Jewish sleepover camp in Northern Ontario, danced in unison to Lizzo’s It’s About Damn Time. Then, after 30 seconds, one of them announced, “Tick Tock, it’s Shabbat o’clock!” The other quickly girls shut […]
The Graduation Party
By Shane Plassenthal, Clifton is going away. Paul is thrilled. He finds every excuse to talk about it to anyone who listen. Just yesterday when we are the Stop and Save getting food for this party we bumped into Shawn and Steve O’Connor, the gay couple Paul worked with when he was at the architectural […]
Coronavirus Solitary: A Play
By Vincent H. O’Neil CURTAIN OPENS INT. SMALL APARTMENT – DAY A card table is at center stage, with a folding chair next to it. A simple board game is on the table. The PRISONER is a young man at right stage. Dressed in a tee shirt and sweat pants, he is doing a set […]
The Dead Don’t Pay
By David Bassano, Juan patiently listened to the doctor explain the next procedure Catalina required but did not ask about the deductible. The doctor then reviewed the various medications Juan and Catalina were taking and why and how he was changing them. Juan thanked the doctor very politely and helped Catalina back onto the bus. […]