Every night, the devil sits himself on the lip of her bed and every night, she sighs and whispers the same word over and again. Yes, she murmurs. Yes, yes, of course. via Pocket Bargains by the Slant-Light | Apex Magazine via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2ybmplV

It’s like poking at an open wound. Every time I read about it, every time I return to it, over and over and over again, I can feel that pain well up. Emotional pain so strong it’s almost physical, you know? And it’s gotten worse since I’ve had kids.… Boy A, Girl A, Slender Man | Apex Magazine via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2FeKMoS

I don’t really know why they called me, except that Auntie claims I “speak haole” better than the rest of the family. The guy’s not even in our ‘aumakua—hell, he’s not even in our pantheon. via Pocket Coyote Now Wears a Suit | Apex Magazine via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2OzcQDw

River Street’s never hard to find; in fact, you’re likely to stumble into it while looking for somewhere else entirely. Once you’re in, though, it’ll seem like a good idea to stay. It’s so easy to keep walking down this pleasant lane, with your face… River Street | Apex Magazine via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2oVDQlr

It had metastasized, and my mother’s belly was swollen with tumors. I took care of her because she needed me and I needed her, and also because Father was always at work or visiting his friends or Aunt Diane. I tried to feed my mother. via Pocket Talking to Cancer | Apex Magazine via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2OVmJM3

When he learn he couldn’t have one, he did find a child in the water. You figure this part goes without saying, ent? That a girl found gasping on the beach would be taken in by a kindly white couple once the husband learn how he infertile. via Pocket Gasping | Apex Magazine via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2w2Z6cN

I watched my love die in the claw of a Scorpion Man. I watched him sever her in half; watched as her long hair dripped down to the ground; watched as her hand let go of her spear; as her long legs folded under her; as the Scorpion Man’s tail rose in… Jewel of the Vashwa | Apex Magazine via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2PxwII8

Rose is ten when the blacksmith’s son pushes her into the river. She lands badly, rocks scraping her knees, tearing her palms. Her dress is cold and wet against her skin as she drags herself out of the water.  Her anger forms a hard lump in her thro… The Sharp Edges of Anger | Apex Magazine via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2EzMBXX

My brothers imagined themselves the first to speak without mouths—their fingers blood-pricked from learning how to pass a needle through lace—but it was only my mother and I who could understand the heaviness of the things we could not say. via Pock…