by Eisuke Aikawa (translated by Toshiya Kamei) “Oh, I never imagined it’d be so popular,” the man formerly known as Great Might waves off the interviewer’s comment. Blessed with superhuman strength, he could crush an apple with one hand. In his youth, he made a name for himself as a sumo wrestler. However, a knee injury sustained in the ring Read More
Category: Trunkated Tales
Trunkated tales demonstrate uncommon pachyderm proverbs that begin with “elephants never…” Each flash fiction tale features at least one elephant in a strikingly human situation. Most tales also occur in a world similar to our own, with the obvious exception of talking pachyderms having a prominent place in human society. Otherwise, trunkated tales create their own realities.
October in California
by Abigail Stewart I. The sky was a lurid orange when Cara awoke. Her television set had turned to static overnight and the alien sun bathed her furniture in a thick ointment of russet light. Somewhere an alarm sounded, relentless and impatient. She rose, ran the water at her kitchen tap. Nothing but a sad trickle, then air. Her mouth Read More
Dear John,
by Stephanie Parent You didn’t look like your profile picture. You didn’t sound like your texts. Online you seemed sophisticated, experienced, telling me about your lingerie photo shoots, the erotic articles you were writing for online magazines. I thought maybe you were full of shit, but I was full of shit too. I wasn’t the girl excited about life and Read More
Rebel-sound
by Philip Berry Amy, 11, couldn’t know how the day would end. In the sharp metallic hour as the first train rolled in, ideas danced and hope thrummed. While thickening rivulets of opinion moved calmly among the city’s sand-blasted flanks and reflective skins, father could not see what the streets held. Nor could mother sense the rising threat, her gaze Read More
Weekly Weekend Washing Ritual
by Frances Tate Check weather forecast. Cast skeptical eyes skyward. Flip a coin. Load washing machine. Finger hovers, nuclear nervous over the start button. Commit… door locks, water rushes. No going back now. Cycle completes. Dozens of socks and smalls damply dangle like chandelier pendants from two, one-hook carousels; the washing line equivalent of a cyclist’s quick-release wheel. I promote Read More
Radio Advice
by Thomas M. McDade My Sox were facing Chicago – Pale Hose, as newspapers said, headed for a pennant, and called the Go-Go Sox: sinker, slider specialist Bob Shaw to start. My dad kept a radio on his bedside table, volume low for my mother’s sake when he couldn’t sleep. He hunted the dial for interesting stuff. He’d picked up Read More
After the Charleston
by Elodie Rose Barnes I’d never been to the Dingo before, and so you took me by the arm. 3 a.m. at the Coupole was deadly, you said. Perhaps Nancy will be at the Dingo to liven things up. My drooping eyelids and numb feet – too much dancing – followed you down the boulevard, drifting from one pool of Read More
Cat Dreams
by Shirley J. Gregory I need help. My neighbor has a little problem, and I feel partially responsible for his predicament. Well, we both got a little excited about my idea, and didn’t stop to really think through what we decided to do. It happened so suddenly we were caught off guard. And, now he’s … well … he’s sort Read More
The Pushcart Prize 2020 Nominations
With this week’s theme of “Endings,” we thought it appropriate to share our nominations for The Pushcart Prize 2020. For those unfamiliar, Pushcart Press produces a yearly anthology to showcase work from small book presses and little magazines. (Despite the pachyderm, we’re really a little fish, so you know.) Submissions for the anthology, however, must come from the online publication Read More
Washed Away
by Jeffrey Yamaguchi The small bottle of shampoo looks like glass, but turns out to be plastic. Its lighter weight and flimsy body throws off my fingers’ calibration — I lose my grip, and it falls to the floor in a whirlpool of soap suds and hot water disappearing down the drain. I don’t bother to bend over and pick Read More