By Abby Melick / Flash /         The man writes her a love letter.   The man (married) writes her (his coworker) a love letter.   The man (who is married and has been for eight years) writes her (his best friend at work, the one who kept him sane during the merger last fall) a love letter (slipped into her company mailbox during work hours).   The man (married) asks her in the love letter if there’s any chance her feelings for him are as strong as his feelings for her. The ma

By Rosabelle Glover / Flash /         Mr. Ryerson, the private detective, doesn’t tell me what I want to know. The information he imparts is polite, like a proper Englishman, he skirts around the details considered best for private moments. But the folder is open, the details handwritten in fine blue ink that darkens as Mr. Ryerson lowers the blinds behind his desk to block the afternoon sun. The office feels smaller with the blinds lowered. Egg-shell-white walls press agains

By Kory Wells / Flash /         At 12– One of my mother’s best friends—she has two, both named Nancy, and in this memory they blend together—picks me up after school. From the teacher’s parking lot. Usually I catch the bus. “Your mother’s doing okay,” she says. “It was benign.” Which means not malignant, I think. These words are only weeks old to me, and I have trouble remembering which is good and which is bad. It will be decades before I know they aren’t pure opposites. My

By Dan Fleshler / Flash /         “I’d rather confess to murder, because murder isn’t pathetic,” my old pal said, as I chomped on my...

By Emily Hall / Flash /         The boys start in opposite ends of the woods behind their father’s house. Maybe they start by hiding,...

By Richard Zboray / Flash /         The eclipse of the sun started on April 8 th  in Burlington, Vermont at 2:14, went total when...

By Stacey Balkun / First Place, 2025 Plentitudes Prize in Flash /             Believe her when she says she loves, you, baby, your...

By Bridget Goldschmidt / Second Place, 2025 Plentitudes Prize in Flash /             They were all playing in the pool that day: Midge,...

By Caressa Layne / Third Place, 2025 Plentitudes Prize in Flash /             Kate draws a revolver from a holster as anyone else...

By Anna Schachner / Flash /   1. The weeping willow tree in our front yard was a neighborhood landmark and jungle gym, although I thought...

By Clare Olivares / Flash /   "Why do you have so many pill bottles in your baggage? Do you need these in your carry on?" Well yes...

By Pam Clements / Flash /   Crushed oyster shells, attractive crunchy walking paths, exist all over the South Carolina lowcountry. ...

By Jordan Nishkian / Flash / “I have a plan to get the new hen to start laying eggs,” Eddie said, interrupting Ada’s assigned reading...

By Iris Harris / Flash /   Terrance stands in front of the mirror, averting his eye from the disdainful reflection of four decades. Long,...

By Alana Craib / Flash /   My mother eats her own hair for breakfast. With milk and salt and fresh fruits. In a little ceramic bowl...