BetaU – T. B. McKenzie – Metaphorosis Magazine
On Sunday, Janie’s com pinged with a message from her cousin who worked for Visage, one of the big city body-mod firms. via Pocket
The Abjection Engine: Fragments From the Diary of Alexi Alanovonovich – Y. X. Acs – Metaphorosis Magazine
Among the infinite forms which the natural world delivers us, none is more fascinating, more truly wonderful, than that incomprehensibly complicated movement referred to, in its entirety, as ‘human…
One Divided by Eternity – Filip Wiltgren – Metaphorosis Magazine
My happiest ending would be if Offie moved in here and I weren’t alone all the time. It doesn’t shut me out. Offie knows how afraid I am of being alone so it leaves the channel open. I could contact it without reestablishing network protocol. via Po…
The Illuminator Leaves – Molly Etta – Metaphorosis Magazine
When the Fata first found me, I was very small, and I had lost my voice. Nevertheless, she took me in, and proved both kind and cruel thereafter. I used to gesture pleas, begging for the return of …
Trucks in Reverse – Christopher Cervelloni – Metaphorosis Magazine
Kevin’s dad drove the huge water truck out the town gate every Wednesday morning. The brake lights glowed bright red when the truck stopped and the guards opened the gate. The lights dimmed, then d…
Light Winds With a Chance of Velociraptors – Michelle Ann King – Metaphorosis Magazine
“That’s the worst thing about the end of the world,” Elsie said, staring mournfully into a teacup that had long ago been licked clean of every last drop of Tetleys and soggy crumb of custard cream.…
The Early History of the Moon – Karolina Fedyk – Metaphorosis Magazine
Warsaw, 1812 Before Warsaw, I had spent days inventing myself as a pianist. Tailoring my biography, imagining what could happen in my possible lives. Love, perhaps, there was place for love; politi…
The Questioning Bell – Jason Baltazar – Metaphorosis Magazine
Enoch woke to the murmuring of window glass against the crown of his head. Outside, the approaching bellcart signaled a new morning, each heavy peal humming through the windowpane. via Pocket
Heartwood – L. Chan – Metaphorosis Magazine
The sorcerer wove his beloved out of the finest silks and linens, the poorest of which was fit for any earthly king. Across her neckline and cuffs, he affixed the most delicate lace, threads more s…
Ways to Face the Firing Squad – Anna Zumbro – Metaphorosis Magazine
Pleadingly Marshall’s innocent. There’s been looting and worse everywhere since the missiles hit, but he’s taken nothing except a jacket he found in an abandoned car. It’s not honor that keeps him …
Canoes of Hava’iki – Steve Rodgers – Metaphorosis Magazine
Ahokupe’s wrists jerked as the sennit ropes were tied tight behind him, and he bit his lip against the pain. Forcing his spirit to quiet, he breathed the subtle scents of rotting durian from the su…
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…
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…
Scraps – by Juliet Kemp – Metaphorosis Magazine
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…
Renewal – Michael Gardner – Metaphorosis Magazine
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…
Radical Abundance – Angie Lathrop – Metaphorosis Magazine
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,…
Bluebird – Benjamin Cort – Metaphorosis Magazine
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…