Stories Archive - Page 21 of 26

Latest Stories

Seven Stars

Erica Ruppert

Alice had sung that single phrase to Paul one night as they sat on their haunches at the back of the yard, stoned and gazing up at the black shape of the hill in the middle distance. Her voice was flat, and the words didn’t fit the tune, but she repeated it until she got bored with the sound of herself. Alice had started calling the hill The Empress sometime over the summer. No one else Paul knew called it anything but the hill.

Nebula

Michael Morell

Content warning: Death . The Saddest Clown. It pinches me, that he’s remembered that way. His character’s name was Wag. Audiences came alive whenever Wag appeared. Dad blamed himself. But inside, I can’t help feeling, it was me. * The night of the fall was particularly steamy. Program sales were high, the audience fanned themselves […]

Your Mother and Other Ancient Denizens

Michael Tager

On your fifteenth birthday at the bowling alley, your mother’s cheek turns to stone. You glimpse it for only a moment between blowing out the candles, and the sudden death of the flame. You aren’t sure what you see behind her brown eyes—was it just a twitch?—but you know somehow that the world is suddenly a less-safe pace.

Dark Side

Marisca Pichette

Trigger warnings: climate change, death, and hunting . The worst thing was the empty sky. It was the first detail I noticed when we got off of the transport, Basi yelling orders as if he knew what was going on, his flawless jaw concealed by a breathing mask. Sofia and Eve were the first to […]

The God of Odds and Ends

Kate Doughty

The Wraith leans against the cinderblock wall of the Quik-Buy on US Route 29 and scratches off a lotto ticket to determine whether you will live or die. You, of course, do not know this. You pull into one of the self-serve stations and read the sign that says cash only. You un-stick your thighs from the bottom of your Toyota’s seats before gathering your trash, shoving your sunglasses into your sweat-damp hair, and making your way inside. You leave most of your weapons in the car. You don’t think you’ll need them.

i

Aaron H. Aceves

i. queer people don’t get happy endings i blame his forearms. thick. sun-kissed. covered with hair. i used to imagine them straining as he caught hold of my wrist. the intent behind his grip was of no consequence. he could have meant to hurt me or draw me in close. either way, i was his. […]

Snapshot

Divya Mehrish

A previous version of this story originally appeared in Polyphony Lit Journal . We keep leather-bound photo albums on bookshelves. Dust coats the front covers, reminding us to read our memories like encyclopedias, to search for the definitions of who we could have been. My mother has organized them by year and stacked them onto […]

Icicle People or The Lake Effect Snow Queen

Jasmine Sawers

I dig myself out of my house to start my patrol. When I emerge, the path I’ve made is already filling back in with fat, wet snow, blowing in all directions. It is ever trying to buffet me about, to billow me to the edge of town, to strike me snow-blind and wind-deaf so I lose my way, but I got my snow legs a long time long ago.

The Home of the Weird and the Wonderful

Sam Muller

The Dragon is coming to tea. Grandmother sends me to The Village at dawn with a list and a handcart. Multiversal Mart (Unlimited Indulgence – Family Friendly) has just opened. C-devi, the owner-manager, sits behind the glass counter. One head inspects the packed shelves, making occasional clucking noises like an irritated hen. Another bends over […]

Revival

Nicole Givens Kurtz

This story originally appeared in the collection Sisters of the Wild Sage: A Wierd Western Collection . 1902 New Mexico Territory Francine “Frankie” Mules was born in a gospel tent. That April evening, the raging New Mexican wind ripped about the pinned back flaps, whipping them about the poles plunged deep into the dirt. The […]

THE MYSTERY OF THE MISLAID GIRLS

Ellen Rhudy

“The Mystery of the Shattered Goblet,” our mother says when we break a wineglass, doing the dishes.

“Secret of the Missing Algebra Textbook,” she says when we tell her why we can’t finish our homework.(…)

Mississippi Sun Dog

Shoshana Surek

Third Place Winner of Voyage’s Spring 2021 First Chapters Contest judged by NYT Bestselling Author Melissa de la Cruz . *A brief note from our guest judge: “The poetry of this one and the sadness was very intriguing, I wanted to know what happened.” . Content Warning: Self-harm . The summer I turned thirteen and […]

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