Matricide by Ceinwen E. Cariad Haydon

(CN / TW: child abuse, verbal abuse, strong language, violence)

Slag. Again.
Again. Tonight,
because I walked home
barefoot, shoes in my hands,

Song of the Silent Woods by Sheikha A.

A thousand fireflies flocked
to rest on the moon like a robe

Completion Date by Neil Fulwood

Nigel Hadley drove out to Samara House to meet the clients. They were late, so he sat in his car and listened to Radio 2 and thought about his life.

The Threshold by John Reinhart

You’re at The Threshold, standing before one hundred doors. All closed. Their faces the myriad faces of wood, of a forest, of the trees they were before.

Singing for These Dancing Bones by Jenne Kaivo

Vultures and bones and briars and stones.
This is not the right place
and I’d like to go home.

Surprise! by Michele Alter Brenton

Anyone will tell you I’m a scream. I’m the life and soul of the party, me. I like a bit of banter, I like to shake things up. Get people going. It’s a laugh. They love it really. They get into the spirit of the thing, acting like they are upset and shaking and crying but they are just hamming it up.

Vitoria Xavier by Louisa Campbell

Angie lay like a corpse, flat on her back on the white marble floor, next to the barrier for Platform 17.

The Dolorous Hour by Jude Cowan Montague

I woke up once. It was still night, I knew.
I was running lying down. Such a night head.

Hagstone by Susan Castillo Street

Flat grey stone, holed through its core.
Some call it adderstone, say it comes
from stings of snakes. Others call it
witch stone, good to ward off nightmares,
keep the dark at bay.