By K. M. Lively The thin, spearmint-flavored floss slides between the two back-most molars on the left side of my mouth. I wince as it wedges into tender gums like a rock lodging itself into a tire’s treads. The pain is sharp, throbbing into the nearby teeth, spreading like a virus. When removed, the offending white thread is stained red. There is a lot of blood—more than there should be. But it’s been a while Read more
By Sadie Lallier These are the journal entries of Dr. Helena Martin, an accomplished marine biologist and oceanographer. They were recovered from the USS Abyssal, a submarine sent on a 15 day mission to investigate a disturbance along the southeastern side of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The crew of five people departed on September 17, 2016, from Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia. All contact with the crew was lost eight days after launch. After Read more
by Bailey Flaherty TW: death occurred prior to story’s beginning, grief, mentions of car crash + blood The grandfather clock stood motionless, its hands frozen in place at 7:37 like it knew my world had stopped then. It towered over the rest of the room, huge and wooden and still, and it was staring at me like it recognized something inside my chest—like it could see the ruptured gears that cut into my heart, the Read more
By Annie Earnshaw Nelly leaned against the SS Sudan’s cedar railing, its lacquer melting into her skin. Though the ship retained the day’s heat, the air had a distinctly unexpected chill. She closed her eyes to the night air, relishing the way it was cooling, but not quite cooled. She knew heat, Philadelphia’s oppressive, mechanical heat. But the stark openness of the Nile was otherworldly. She wanted to write to Thomas Cook, proprietor of this Read more
By Ryn Brierley “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man” (Prov. 3:3-4). I realized I loved him one Sunday morning, as the final glorious reverberations of the organ receded into the ivory stone of the sanctuary walls and the Lord’s Prayer came to its conclusion. And Read more