A Fable of Schadenfreude

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By Peter Lavin, Even after six months of ownership Mick Moneypenny still took pleasure in opening the door of his BMW. It swung smoothly and soundlessly with minimum effort. The car was perfectly engineered, right down to the hinges. He climbed into his car and pulled out of the driveway at 100 Hedge Fund Way. […]

Sasquatch, Baby! (Excerpt)

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By Bethany Browning, The boredom was real. The chatter in my mind was a scurry of chipmunks, running one self-destructive idea after another through every inch of my brain. “Call them. Call them. Call them,” my brain—a naughty devil—urged. Either I couldn’t sit still or I could only sit still. Who knew that cutting off […]

The Keyhole

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By Leah Eichler “Ma’am, I’m glad you are home. There’s an issue with my door.” Karen forced a smile at her tenant, who poked his head through his door as soon as he heard her walk up the steps to her own. He’d only been living in her basement apartment for three days but already […]

Caring

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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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 […]