In the Rustle of Pages

by Cassandra Khaw

In the armoire beside the marital bed sleeps a chronology of her husband’s metamorphosis: scans inventorizing the tiling on the walls of his heart, the stairwells budding in his arteries. For all of the hurt it conjures, Li Jing thinks his metamorphosis beautiful, too.

Flash Fiction Extravaganza! Bears

“The Sweet Life” by Aidan Doyle.
Read by Graeme Dunlop.

First appeared in Every Day Fiction in 2014.

“My Wife is a Bear in the Morning” by David Steffen.
Read by Sean D Sorrentino.

A PodCastle original!

See David’s Long List Anthology Kindle pre-order page. Availability on more sites coming soon!

“About The Bear” by Spencer Ellsworth.
Read by Cheyenne Wright.

A PodCastle original!

“The First Winter” by Renee Carter Hall.
Read by Jennifer Albert.

First appeared in Renee’s book Wishing Season.

“On Not Noticing A Bear” by Amy Sisson.
Read by Wilson Fowlie.

First published in Every Day Fiction in December 2014.

Have a look at the painting which was the story’s inspiration.

Old Foss is the Name of His Cat

by David Sandner

The rain wept against the glass as Old Foss watched impassively behind the window. The Old Man ran back and forth across the cobbled street, his long white nightshirt soaked and clinging to his ungainly frame, his paunched belly and skinny pale legs. His long bedraggled beard leaked, sloughing off water when he shook his head and bellowed: “Where is my Jumbly Girl?” The Old Man knocked on every door he came to, but no one answered for they knew the old Englishman too well.

At first, when the fugues came on, the locals had only shaken their heads at him, then argued with him in broken English or too fluent Italian, especially when the rain came up fast. They pushed him towards the villa he and Old Foss rented; but when the confusion came upon him he would only look at them uncomprehendingly, or look at their doors long after they had shut them with the oddest expression of thwarted desire, then he would wander away again and knock on another wrong door. For no one could see the Jumblies but him and Old Foss. None could know of his time with his Jumbly Girl but Old Foss and himself. Old Foss and he is how it should be for the Jumbly girl would bring him only death for all her promises. Why couldn’t he see that, Old Foss thought crossly, twitching his tail, and was is really so much as all that to love a Jumbly Girl?

The One They Took Before

by Kelly Sandoval

Rift opened in my backyard. About six feet tall and one foot wide. Appears to open onto a world of endless twilight and impossible beauty. Makes a ringing noise like a thousand tiny bells. Call (206) 555-9780 to identify.

Kayla reads the listing twice, knowing the eager beating of her heart is ridiculous. One page back, someone claims they found a time machine. Someone else has apparently lost their kidneys.

The Internet isn’t real. That’s what she likes about it. And if the post is real, the best thing she can do is pretend she never saw it.

After all, she’s doing better. She sees a therapist, now. She’s had a couple of job interviews.

She calls the number.