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January-February 2024

Bridget

Alana Dunlop

It’s actually pretty hard to construct a good lie. I learned this when I was sitting in a beige hospital chair, my skinny arm outstretched, purple at the spot where the wiry IV cord met my skin. I was in one of those Phase 0 studies for money, the kind where you have to stop […] More »
November - December 2023

Drink tea, eat rice, go to sleep

Sophia Savva

I like working at the konbini because it convinces me I’m good and nice. Here, I’m a secondary character. I help people feed themselves and pay their bills and send mail. I don’t get into trouble. I never take off my uniform. I even wear it to bed. The armpits of the white blouse are […] More »
September-October 2023

Wife Material

Blessing O. Nwodo

The noisy blender whirred, its blades rotating rapidly, crushing the brown beans for the steamed moi moi that Jide, her boyfriend, liked. Ogechukwu placed her hand on top to prevent it from moving as it juddered on the kitchen counter, the vibrations taking her back to a time when such electronics were forbidden at home, mainly […] More »
July/August 2023

Zora

Leila Marshy

Maybe you remember Zora. I used to see her on St. Laurent selling jewellery and T-shirts and scraps of paper scribbled with art. In and out of bars and cafés, always alone, a storming shadow. Our eyes met once and I smiled. She stared, walked on. So, when I saw her on Sunday, sitting in […] More »
July/August 2023

Daily Double

Katia Lo Innes

  There are few things left that I can still derive joy from, the night bus being one of them. Whenever I can’t sleep and feel terrible about the state of all things—which is often—I remember that I can just walk out of my apartment in the middle of the night and wait at the […] More »
November-December 2018

Sea Change

Short fiction by Nadia Ragbar

Nadia Ragbar

Je m’appelle Reynaud. My mother named me. She was French. Other than her, I have never met anyone else who was French. No one else in this city is French. I don’t recall ever meeting my father. I am alone in a dead city. There are no more people here. People do not live in […] More »
September-October 2018

One Weird Trick

Short fiction by Andrew F. Sullivan

Andrew F. Sullivan

A fleck of topsoil found its way onto Paloma’s middle finger. She rolled the dirt back and forth against her thumb, examining what was left of the cactus her mother delivered a few weeks before. Something for you to nurture, the note said. The crisp cursive script was centred on the scrap of a pharmacy […] More »
July-August 2018

Now Your Son is Mine

New short fiction by Madhur Anand

Madhur Anand

You still didn’t feel comfortable drinking in front of your parents. You texted “bless you” to Vikas, as he received your drink from Sumeet Uncle at the open but not self-serve bar. You then said the same words out loud when the cold glass met your sweaty palms. Vikas was your best friend and a […] More »
July-August 2018

A Seal Love Story (Sealed Fate)

New short fiction by Jen Neale

Jen Neale

Not realizing it was already occupied, the seal threw itself on the ice floe, ending, for the moment, the pursuit of the orcas. The seal’s momentum slid it straight into the monster’s leg, and feeling that unexpected warmth, it twisted, scrambled on its fins, knocked a small oar into the water, and was at the edge […] More »
May-June 2018

Best Friends Forever

New short fiction by Madeleine Maillet

Madeleine Maillet

I was writing a quiz in organic chemistry when you texted me. It was the first time I ever missed a test. Technically, I didn’t miss it because there were five quizzes per term but only the four best counted toward the final mark. You thought it was funny that I was there when you […] More »
March-April 2018

Swimming Upright

New fiction by Kasia Juno van Schaik

Kasia Juno van Schaik@kasiajuno

  In the kitchen everyone is talking about Kendrick Lamar. Health Goths. Social workers. Lovers being just a little bit mean to each other. But who am I to judge? I who watch nature documentaries in the bath.   The bride-to-be stretches her toes on the sofa. I sit beside her and look at photographs […] More »