#literary-fiction

THE NAMELESS SHEPHERD

PART 1 — THE BOY WITHOUT A NAME

The Quiet Room

The meter cannot measure intent

When Every Caregiver Is Elderly: The Heartbreaking Story of a 93-Year-Old Father in the Hospital

Raman was 93 years old. His wife, Shanti, was 83. Their only son, Rajesh, was 64, and his wife, Suman, was 60.

A Kilo of Sugar

Content note: This story contains child grooming and implied abuse.

The Ones Who Look Up

Part I—Heel and Hollow

Marco & The Tiger

An eye for an I

The Slow Clock

Some houses keep more than one time.

Rosemary and Rue | A Man of Many Shadows

Smooth and slick like oil, almost impossible to grasp.

The Witch Who Sold Pieces of Time — Episode 3 by Pen & Page

The Queen of Lost Tomorrows

*.★*☆.ﾟ* Starry Night *.★*☆.ﾟ*

A short poem —bittersweet untold.

Not Tonight

The Carades Preparation — Episode 2: The Room

The Tale of Tiva Atoish — Chapter 3

For two days and nights they tracked the war party through the forest. Nightblind and hollow, they read the passing of the men through the…

Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool You

With its peeling gray paint, cockeyed shutters, and boarded-up windows, the place fairly screamed “haunted house”

The Tale of Tiva Atoish — Chapter 2

All is do is born out of love. For you, I would gladly watch the world burn.

The Carades Preparation — Episode 1

The Night Before

Other People’s Lives Are Not Evidence in Your Trial

There is a selfish way to think about the people we hurt. We imagine their lives after us as evidence for or against our guilt. If they…

The Second Chair

I Didn’t Hit Anyone” Is Not the Same as “I Didn’t Hurt Anyone

There is a sentence many angry people use as a shield:

Mother Dumplin Sees Red

Based on a story by Jim Ashmore

The Education Process

Swerthington College was renowned as one of the world’s preeminent education institutions. Its hallowed halls had seen a Noble prize…

Behind

A line that has been getting away with it for six weeks, on the Saturday it doesn’t

Silence Is a Skill We Learn Before We Know What It Costs

Most people do not become silent all at once.

Living the Dream

How he had come to this place was the result of a series of events that he had largely been unable to control. His life had been fulfilling…

Some People Sell Trust for the Price of Being Included

The worst betrayals are not always dramatic.

When the Nile Reached Paris

A love story between two souls, surviving across time, memory, and the boundaries of existence.

The Eucalyptus

Thunder rolled over the building, and the wind picked up speed. Swapnil’s mother pushed the balcony door open and rushed to pull her saree…

The Houseguest

The house was in chaos. The queen of the house was in full force commanding this underling and that into motion. Chores needed doing…

The Burden of Delusion

Darby Helwig Picklemeyer was a peculiar boy. In saying he was peculiar one could be forgiven for the compartmentalization of the lad; for…

Legends

The van arrived and immediately spilled two men from the cab at the front. Wanting to get going with the two men and before they could…

The Butcher of Coventry Lane

Two friends stood over a hole in the ground located in the backyard of 3745 Coventry Lane. The pair were there trying to solve a mystery. A…

Some Apologies Arrive Too Late to Be Useful

There is a fantasy inside apology.

Stillness

Stillness

Rosemary and Rue | Wing’d Cupid Painted Blind

Resisting him felt like a war against herself.

A TRUE SOLITARY JOURNEY

‘THE AWAKENING’ BY KATE CHOPIN

Ghosts of Venice

A short story

“Breadcrumbs” / Hayden’s Ferry Review

“This game began, with no explanation, the summer I turned seven.”

Encounters in the Heart of History — A Dialogue with Emily Dickinson

A quiet imaginary conversation about hope, memory, and the meaning of unseen presence across time

I’m Sitting in the Yard

He came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and another hanging from his neck. He stood in front of the dining room…

Things Left Underground

“His dad always said he was too smart for his own damn good…”

The Myth of Alone

First Line Fiction Prompt #96

Whistleblower

A job’s a job, but a man’s got to have his principles.

Inspired by CRITIC’S CUT | Understanding Criticism 101 | REPORT 5 / 30

In CRITIC’S CUT, Elias Crowe is not destroyed by criticism alone — he is destroyed by treating every voice like a final grade. The card…

ELAYNE TAKES SYLVIA IN THE AGENCY STOREROOM: Part Three

Two women, one destiny, endless desire

The Crooked Frame

A house of small surrenders

He Bought a Bus Ticket. It Took Him Somewhere Else.

There are nights when leaving feels like a solution.

Thin Shadows on the Pavement

Some relationships end at once. Others unravel slowly.

ELAYNE TAKES SYLVIA IN THE AGENCY STOREROOM: Part Two

Two women, one destiny, endless desire

ELAYNE TAKES SYLVIA IN THE AGENCY STOREROOM: Part One

Two women, one destiny, endless desire

Tideline

A coastline you were never allowed to need

Věra’s Story: Episode Two, Strasbourg

Cheb to Paris, 1945–46 [Updated]