Issue #13
Your Daily Bread by Elise Blackwell

The smell of bread told me the new bakery had finally opened, and I followed it and then, much more slowly, the long line of other gluten-tolerant people to the counter.

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Accordion by Lynne Barrett

“Pol-ka,” Tom breathes, and his fingers move. Janet leans over him. He lies, arms open, tubes in his nostrils and the back of one hand, a man being played by machines.

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Vampire by Jeff Friedman

“Stop biting me,” I said—scratching a new welt on my neck. She must have bitten me again while I was napping on the couch.

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Pet Shop Boys by Tim Craig

Dayne’s on-off-off-on stepdad, Kel, says stay away from that new pet shop.

Blue-naped Parrots See More Than They Say by Judy Darley

I date Brodie while I’m visiting Seattle. He shares a draughty old house with a bunch of roommates, including a blue-naped parrot who lives in a big cage looking out at a treehouse.

Glass Flamingos by Catherine Roberts

I smash them all. Because who the fuck collects glass flamingos? Around me, pink shards sparkle in the carpet like pretty vomit.

You, Visitor by Jane O’Sullivan

You don’t like her much, not that you can tell her that. Slugging along behind you, hands in pockets. Sullen as a fish despite the fucking dawn rising over the city, the glory of it.

Carry On by Lucinda Kempe

Once there was a man who loved his donkey, but his donkey didn’t love him back. The donkey loved an eggshell, but the eggshell didn’t love it back.