Short Story

Meeting the Sky
In the little metal lunchbox were scraps of paper notes, and old movie tickets, and pins, and those smashed pennies from novel places. All that and select photos, and old keys from homes that I once claimed. There is a picture at my grandpa’s breakfast table, with its clutter of breakfast apparatus. The occupied bowls, orange juice filled glasses and plates of bacon, eggs, golden-brown toast all strewn and aligned with the encircling chairs and their smiley occupants: grandpa, mom, and me.
By Atrayu Sweet11 months ago in Fiction
The Shadow Crown. Top Story - November 2025.
November 17. Bells tolled all over Hatfield, not in triumph, but in foreboding. Shadows strayed where sunlight could not reach.
By Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin11 months ago in Fiction
Square Mile
The bar at the airport transit lounge in Hong Kong at 3am is perhaps not an ideal situation for making new friends. On the other hand, two weary travellers alone at a bar can only ignore each other for so long.
By robert fisherman11 months ago in Fiction
Order in the Court
The wire-rimmed glasses, the slight graying of the feathers, his slow but deliberate walk, made it clear this barn owl was a bird of great importance. He took the judge’s chair and gaveled the court into session.
By Steve Lance11 months ago in Fiction
The Night the River Took the Moon. AI-Generated.
The villagers of Keshari Bend still whisper about the night the river swallowed the moon. Not the real moon — no one is foolish enough to believe that —
By shakir hamid11 months ago in Fiction
The Night the Stars Fell Into the Sea. AI-Generated.
On the edge of Miraan Coast, where the sea hummed like an ancient lullaby, lived a quiet fisherman named Arav. Every evening he pushed his small blue boat into the water, following the same rhythm, the same routine, the same tired hope that tomorrow might be better than today.
By shakir hamid11 months ago in Fiction
Vocal.Media Need New Glasses
Maybe They Need New Glasses I have spent the last two days pulling my hair out, wondering what on earth I was doing wrong. Every poem I tried to put on Vocal got the same message back. Not in English. Not in English. Not in English. As if I had suddenly decided to start writing in ten different languages overnight.
By ♿ V+ Marie381Uk 11 months ago in Fiction
The Lingering Ghosts of the Land
In the heart of the highland mountains there had once been a great lake on the west end of an ancient city, vast enough to earn the name of ocean,
By Une Femme11 months ago in Fiction
Halloween House Party (10). Content Warning.
Chapter 10: Slowly I’m pulled from whatever dark abyss I was dropped into, my head throbbing with each shift of movement, even blinking is likely to have me passing out.
By 𝓗. 𝓒. 𝓡𝓾𝓫𝔂11 months ago in Fiction
The compass that points to the bottom of forever
The air felt sharp, like tiny shards of broken glass. It was so quiet, almost silent, with a hum. Dr. Alistair Finch grew accustomed to Antarctica’s quiet, not because it was empty, but because it felt genuine. His small station, a worn green prefab hut nicknamed 'The Logic Box,' stood alone on the ice, where facts were straightforward: air temperature, pressure changes, and how magnets pointed off true north.
By Nipun M. Wijerathne11 months ago in Fiction
Spare Change
First payback—coins to me. I figured I miscounted. By the door: a ceramic bowl—keys, coins—a grown-up junk drawer. Pennies, dimes, and one stray token from a laundromat that quit before my lease did. I dump pockets there at night so tomorrow I don’t swear at a washing machine with hands full. Practical. Ugly. Normal.
By Milan Milic11 months ago in Fiction
Catechism Schism. Content Warning.
The twisted fibers cut his skin. Wincing, Alexander pulls his hand to his mouth, cleaning the blood from his fingers. The rope is rough, and it hurts to grasp. It hurts more than he had been used to. He doesn’t let go.
By Roman Hale11 months ago in Fiction