Fiction
Fiction published by Open Arts Forum, including short stories and other imaginative prose by contributing writers.
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Fiction published by Open Arts Forum, including short stories and other imaginative prose by contributing writers.
FictionNettles and Jeopardy (All True)
I watched him pull off his trousers hunker down in the nettles then hobble from patch to patch for fresh stings my dad said…
FictionAll Day
The automatic doors don’t open so much as capitulate, sliding back like they, too, would rather not, and I step through into the fluorescent…
FictionPoisonous Reflections
The Santa Ana wind whipped up, hot and dry as a kiln, the kind of night that makes quiet housewives caress the edge of…
FictionComing of Age as an Expatriate
“Wow. How big are they?” “Those probably have a wingspan of four, maybe five feet. They’re short-nosed fruit bats. The Bogor Botanical Museum has…
Fiction, Flash and Short FictionHonorable Mention
Dixie Carver, age 49, died today surrounded by her family and a chorus of parishioners from her family’s church. Throughout the vigil, everyone kept…
FictionThe Wormhole Killers
The Wormhole Killers is a piece of fiction by Grady VanWright. The author has created a video of a reading of the short work.…
FictionA Package from Home
We’re more than a week in and people are still saying it’s already September as if there’s some injustice involved, as if it’s their first time…
FictionThe Two Stones
I name one stone Granger. I name the other stone Wayne. Neither has a housemaid. Both have birthdays. Their father's name is Hays. Their…
FictionArt of the Steal: Portrait Gallery Appoints New Director With Unmatched Expertise in Framing
In a bold move that redefines both "art" and "history," the National Portrait Griftlery has appointed a new director: former real estate tycoon, reality…
Fiction, HumorYour call is important to us
They brought me in on a six-week contract to “optimize client contact channels”—which, in plain English, meant building a phone system so soul-destroying that…
FictionThe Golden Years of Gary Goldenberg
At Gary Goldenberg’s retirement party, someone brought a chocolate sheet cake that said “Congratulations!” in blue frosting, the kind that stained teeth and clothes…
FictionThe Last Few Miles
They told him in March. A manila envelope full of scan results, a half-hearted handshake from the doctor, a lot of words like “advanced”…