Angels at the Border – Ian Rennie – Metaphorosis Magazine
The angels moved up the road towards Gethsemene in a triad formation. If they’d walked, that would have been something. If they’d flown, swooped in from the sky, that would have been so…
The bell jingled, and Emmeline looked, frowning, at the door through to the front of the shop. She was in the middle of a fitting, and one did not expect interruptions if one was being fitted for c…
Sundown on the Hill – Timothy Mudie – Metaphorosis Magazine
Judy wakes up in the middle of the night to an empty bed, but she knows exactly where Edward is. There’s only one place he goes these days. As she lies there in the late summer heat, the sheet stic…
Lake Oreyd – Damien Krsteski – Metaphorosis Magazine
The lake’s still surface was a golden quilt. The churches which amassed along the shore over the centuries now had their fossilized features balanced between day and night. A most sacred moment. Th…
The Lost Heirs of Rose McAlder – Kate Lechler – Metaphorosis Magazine
When Rose McAlder died at eighty-five, it took us all of an hour to congregate on her property, rubbing our hands and stamping our feet against the October chill. We hadn’t known it was she who had…
Bad News from the Future – Angus Cervantes – Metaphorosis Magazine
“If you’re really my future self,” I said, “convince me.” “Because stopping time isn’t convincing.” “I believe you have a time machine. Prove you’re me.” I tried again to straighten my head. “If yo…
John waited for Holly, continually clenching and then unclenching clammy hands. He sat on the edge of the bed, his stomach roiling, his feet tapping the floor incessantly. It never got easier. He always dreaded the confirmation. It was inevitable an…
What the Darkness Is – Simon Kewin – Metaphorosis Magazine
The howls of the gore-hounds filled the night air. Vanda stopped to catch her breath. Sounds echoed off the trees, throwing noises at her from odd angles. Her pursuers were close. When they caught …
The Lost Languages of Exiles – Laura E. Price – Metaphorosis Magazine
The shoes they gave her don’t fit. She notices in the waiting area of the IWT counseling office and holds one foot out in front of her. Wiggles her toes and feels them rubbing against the inside front seam of the shoe. via Pocket
Making the List – David Hammond – Metaphorosis Magazine
It started with a routine-sounding letter from my health insurance company. I opened it quickly because I was in the mood for a snack, and there was a little picture of cherries on the lower right …
Sundown on the Hill – Timothy Mudie – Metaphorosis Magazine
Judy wakes up in the middle of the night to an empty bed, but she knows exactly where Edward is. There’s only one place he goes these days. As she lies there in the late summer heat, the sheet stic…
Something woke me. A sound. I rolled to my back. Sand and rock ground into my shoulders and my skin hurt everywhere and my lungs seemed too dry to work properly. But for a moment I forgot all that,…
The Snow Queen’s Daughter – Sean R. Robinson – Metaphorosis Magazine
I extended my hand out the window, reaching as my mother had taught me since I was old enough to understand her words. Palm up, an invitation to the distant skies. The steppe ended in the distance,…
Nelson Towers spent most of his time oiling the feathers. When he had taken the job he had been enticed by the prestige, the travel, and the pay. He quickly came to realize that his work was to be …
To the Eggplant Cannon – Beth Goder – Metaphorosis Magazine
The amusement park was so large that it had two trains named after root vegetables. Vienne got on the wrong one. Lugging her magician’s trunk in one hand and a map of Wonder Gardens in the other, s…
The Number of the Tribe – Gerald Warfield – Metaphorosis Magazine
Gurn levered himself up from his bed of furs, hoping he hadn’t cried out. A few embers glowed in the fire pit, casting warm light on the roof of skins. Around him, he heard only gentle breathing an…
The Wife of Fabian Vitalik – Mariah Montoya – Metaphorosis Magazine
The day that Fabian Vitalik’s wife left, rain masked the roar of the sea just beyond their rock garden. Fabian ended fishing early because of the storm, and came home to find his wife dozing on the sofa by the window, unfazed by the sharp pat pat pa…
This Side of the Wall – Michael Gardner – Metaphorosis Magazine
Today was my day to choose a disease. “Fennel,” Mama called up from the kitchen. “Breakfast’s near ready.” “Coming, Mama,” I yelled back as I pulled a simple, blue dress over my head. I tied my hai…
This Side of the Wall – Michael Gardner – Metaphorosis Magazine
Today was my day to choose a disease. Mama was heavily pregnant again. She was stirring a large pot that bubbled away on the stove, filling the air with the aroma of milk and oats. Sage, Lentil, and Chilli were crawling around Mama’s ankles, squeali…
Over the past year, we at MAELSTROM have covered stories which have often bordered on the sensational, such as the famous rivalry between siblings Amaterasu and Susanoo, the Japanese gods of the Sun and the Storms respectively. via Pocket
The Cypress and the Rose – Sandi Leibowitz – Metaphorosis Magazine
On her sixteenth birthday, a girl approached her mother, a priestess gifted in prophecy, to learn her name and her fate. The trees of that island country spoke with the people, the priestesses most of all, and taught them things that we, to whom the…
Velaya, the Dreaming City – Beston Barnett – Metaphorosis Magazine
I set out for Velaya as a young man, having only just pledged to wed. I was to marry Belqis, flower of our village and light of my eyes, in whose father’s orchards I had played since my childhood. Our marriage should have been enough for a lifetime …
Claudia Campbell shifted in her seat, clutching her oversized pocketbook closer to her chest. She released an audible huff. With all the automation these days, why couldn’t they move things along faster? She dragged a digital magazine off a nearby t…