Sunday Stories: “On the Flood of 1947, Its Consequences & the Oddity of the Cadaver Discovered Thereafter: First Draft”

On the Flood of 1947, Its Consequences & the Oddity of the Cadaver Discovered Thereafter: First Draft by Stephen Langlois Let me start off by thanking Ms. Spencer for inviting me here to talk to you kids. I might’ve severed ties with the Historical Society, but that don’t mean I ain’t an expert on Vermont history and I appreciate being recognized as such. As for the flood what wreaked havoc throughout Rutland County–well, I’ll do my best to stick to […]

Continue Reading

Sunday Stories: “Other People’s Kids”

Other People’s Kids by Kristen Falso-Capaldi Let me say this: Things were pretty bad. My mother had been dead six weeks. And my father? When I tried to remember him, I’d see a combination of his army photo (taken when he was an eighteen-year-old misanthrope from the south shore) and the man on the Wooly Willy game from when I was a kid. By dragging tiny metal fragments with a magnetic pen, you could add a mustache or a beard […]

Continue Reading

Sunday Stories: “Strange Cabinfellows”

Strange Cabinfellows (or 16 Hours) by Busra Erkara “Thiz iz,” said the taxi driver, pointing widely at the bleak port that lay to our left. The sun was about to set. I knew that solely based on the time, and not the mercury color that was contrasting with the red, cone roofs of Toompea Castle in the northeast. Just like everywhere else, Tallinn looked better on the cover of a Lonely Planet. Don’t bother going there.

Continue Reading

Sunday Stories: “Sirens”

Sirens by Brenna Ehrlich The ice was just thick enough for skipping stones, so Rose chucked a rock at the sheet of cold. It skittered across the surface, making a pleasing “plink plink plink” sound — until it reached a hole and splashed down. The moon shimmered in the circle of water like an opal in a pile of quartz.

Continue Reading

Sunday Stories: “Trash Night”

Trash Night by Elizabeth Ellen It was Monday, trash night. I wheeled the garbage bins to the curb. It was the second night I didn’t have to turn on the heat. I carried the mail into the garage. The next day was my birthday. My husband was stopping by to take me to Flint. I wanted to eat lunch at the mall food court with Tanja, play miniature golf in an ice cream shop parking lot, hold puppies at the […]

Continue Reading

Sunday Stories: “Armageddon ’98”

Armageddon ’98 by Jesse Hassenger Carlos doesn’t think it counts as Movie Club anymore, not since we walked across the stage. The trips to Boogie Nights and Wild Things and Godzilla and Can’t Hardly Wait and Dirty Work weren’t on the official books either, but all five of us plus a couple of the girls make up about eighty percent of the core Movie Club membership for the 1997-98 academic year. Other people showed up, of course, but did they […]

Continue Reading

Sunday Stories: “Sweet”

Sweet by Sara Petersen I’m sorry I made the bread pudding, placing it to cool in the middle of the kitchen table, its crust of burnt sweetness permeating the house, invading the guest bedroom where you lay. Last night after dinner, when I buttered the pan (my pan) and began ripping up the bread, you told me with a sad shake of your head that bread pudding wasn’t right.

Continue Reading

Sunday Stories: “Selectively Bred”

Selectively Bred by Kristen Arnett Bacon sat at the bottom of Monica’s purse. Four large pieces bundled in a ziplock baggie, stuffed beneath her wallet and an unopened package of spearmint breath mints. She’d considered packing string cheese or some bloody slices of roast beef, but ultimately decided that dogs liked bacon best. She stood in front of her stove, frying the strips until they turned crunchy brown and grease spattered her bare arms. Her hair carried the scent of […]

Continue Reading