Editor’s note: Freeman’s work contains very authentic and difficult adult themes. Above, original artwork by Tennille Blair-Neff Picture Perfect by Freeman Our entire family stands together for the last time ever All thirteen of us smiling toward the lens from in front of A red and green hollyhock hedgerow, Holding egg cartons and Easter baskets,…
Above, at left, artist Christiano Bellotti. At right, R’vyn Grega-Szabo with Christiano Bellotti. Try To Imagine by R’vyn Grega-Szabo Here… before you say “I can do that,” try to imagine crawling inside of a cave, alone, in the dark and all that can guide you to the exit is a tube lying on a floor…
Original artwork by Seth Daughtry. Plague Child’s Doctor by Joshua Heston There was a flicker of afternoon sun through sighing leaves. Movement came back into the world. The ratchet-like scrape of butcher knife against sharpening stone. The rustle of old newspapers being spread out on the floor. Dirty yellow curtains billowed in the wind. The…
Fourteen-year-old Cyrus Thatcher already knows he’s a freak and his father hates him. But when his beloved baby sister disappears and the townspeople won’t help, Cyrus must choose to take matters into his own self-doubting hands. Set in rural Missouri of 1924, The Plague Child’s Doctor is a fanciful plunge into fantasy, horror, and Americana…
Shot At and Missed by Dave Loftin Dad’s call for help came right at calving time. The old brindle was in obvious distress. Of course we couldn’t get close enough to help much so we called for the vet and started moving her toward the barn and working pens. This turned into quite a merry…
Alfred’s Sarsen Stone by Edwin Woolsey The young prince was missing late in the afternoon, secretly playing the part of a minstrel for the unsuspecting Danes at Uffington Castle. Alfred sang like a bird for his enemy’s enjoyment, determined to learn their battle plans. None the wiser, the Vikings sang back, carelessly disclosing everything he…
Dead Ringer by Lisa Livingston Martin The giggling announced that the Women’s bathroom door had opened. I glanced at the clock. 11:48 p.m. I returned to my notes, turning the pen in my hand as my mind worked over the scrawled handwriting. The phone started ringing. Not the phone on the desk behind me. The pay…
Lessons on the Mountain by Joshua Heston There was once a time when you could scarcely keep me out of the timber. These days, the rigors of editor-in-chief keeps me close to the studio and desktop. For the last couple of years, I’ve kicked myself for not getting out to the mountain in early spring,…
The House Show by Joshua Ong I could hear their screams from the road. Pulling up, a dim green light emitted from a farmhouse. It is here a group of metal enthusiasts came together to rage, just north of Branson, down a few back roads, in a place surrounded by cows. The farm house was…