Category: issue 11

Content warning: racism Taiwan under Japanese colonial rule, 1913 When Takeda opened his tent in the morning, the mountain ridges on this tropical island were covered in snow. The pure whiteness had painted the trails, and the strong wind was whispering to his ears like a woman’s haunting lament. This was the colony in the… Continue reading In the Colonial Mountains, by Lillian Tsay

There is a queue of people wearing funny costumes in the garden, stretching from the porch all the way to the gate. They are here because Pātti died. Well, they haven’t come because she died, exactly. More because she’s not supposed to still be here. The people in costumes aren’t supposed to be here either.… Continue reading When Pātti Stayed, by Tehnuka

“The archivist called, earlier. She says they’re opening the herbaria today.” Till sets down the teapot with a clink. It’s jarring; ruinous of her nana’s cultivated peace. “Late notice, but you know what she’s like. She wondered if you’d like to come.” Her nana takes a careful sip from her mug. “Today?” Till grew up… Continue reading In Pursuit of Resurrection, by Kit Calvert

Eventually, I took Sallie home to get better. Not home to the city condo where we lived, where each night I plugged her into the silver charging station, waiting for her chirp goodnight. Not even to the place I procured her and the charging station (I got her for 35% off because of the dent… Continue reading Operating Within Normal Parameters, by Irette Y. Patterson

Content warning: disordered eating “No offense Iz, but that man would eat you alive.” Shaina’s eyes danced as the new designer disappeared into a frosted conference room. “Why? Because I’m fat and he’s beautiful?” Izzy toyed with the expensive gold bracelet she’d bought recently on the advice of her therapist; a reward for a body… Continue reading The Dinner Party, by Rosamund Lannin

Evie steered her car from the paved road onto the rutted service path that snaked into the heart of the old forest. From the backseat, her offering of a platter of deviled eggs emitted a faintly sulfuric scent.

Princess Carmin could taste the beer in the air. It cascaded off the balustrades from the floor above, into copper troughs that formed artificial rivers and fed gilded gutters that passed between tables filled with half-drunk nobles. A few feet from her table, the gutters fed into a well, flowing further down to the second… Continue reading The Alchemical Miracle of Shamra’s Endless Beer, by Akis Linardos

The silence in the room was unbearable. War Council members looked to one another in agonized expectation. The enemy had launched its missile. No one knew when it would hit, where it would land. Whom it would affect. When it happened, there was hardly any time to acknowledge it before the consequences took effect. General… Continue reading RAW EMIT, by Anthony Regolino

The scalpel made a clean, quick cut, dashing a bloody arc across the tiled floor. Its victim clutched at her throat, choking, spinning a half circle before collapsing, gurgling bloody bubbles. The killer smiled gloomily, raising the scalpel to his mouth to touch the tip with his tongue. “Never thought you’d have this pay—I mean… Continue reading Behind the Scenes, by Anya Ow

The autopsy report confirmed Josh had died in his room on Christmas, all alone, of natural causes, and never having left his last breath. No, he held that one. A little too long. And, in the end, he decided to hide it for someone special in a place where it’d keep glowing, even in his… Continue reading Through the Merry-Go-Round, by Abhishek Sengupta