animation by Sidney Waskosky
Month: October 2020
A short story by Mackenzie Blithe
“A Rose Garden Revelation”
“This is a story all about how my life got turned upside down.”
No really. This is the story of a seemingly silly contest that changed my life forever.
The federal government was accumulating debt at a rapid rate (as usual), and they were trying to think of new ways to generate income. Therefore, Congress passed a law that would allow anyone that wanted to pay a five-hundred-dollar fee to enter a contest to be President for one day. There would be fifty one-day Presidents chosen in this contest, and the vetting process was brutal. The best part of the whole contest was that the age to become President for one-day was lowered to only twenty years old, instead of the usual thirty-five for regular Presidencies. While this whole concept might seem inconceivable, everyone knows that the Presidential process is flawed. Poor and middle-class Americans struggle to see how politics can actually make a difference in their lives because election after election, we see another Continue reading
Drawing by Talina Hollis
A short horror story by Rebecca Green
“55 North Wing”
A hospital room which is cursed and has different patients come in and out with different stories
“Where is she?” asks Mike as Megan is laying on her deathbed.
“55 North Wing in the yellow hallway,” the little boy replies. He proceeds to walk over as he has a flashback, he cannot fully recall. As he walks towards the room, he gets a weird and unpleasant feeling in his gut. He continues walking towards the room but instantly collapses.
Travis finds him lying there and rushes to find a nurse. When Travis looks around there is no nurse to be found. He runs and runs but each hallway takes him back to 55 North Wing. He is starting to feel weak and begins to see stars. Just like Mike, Travis collapses to the ground.
“Happy Birthday,” says Luna to Jim. Today is Jim’s fifth birthday and he Continue reading
Illustration by Isabella Cox
Drawing by Jasmine Brooks
A poem by Teresa Bourren
Bird Branch
are you comfortable being uncomfortable?
are you willing? will you let it break you?
or will you be like the bird?
the bird who sits upon a branch and pays no mind to the strength of said branch,
because she relies not on the branches ability to keep her in the sky
but her own wings to not falter Continue reading
illustration by Rosetta Cox
Drawing by Jasmine Santiago
A poem by Julzette Masi
Two Sides of One
I can’t forget the night we met. That girl saw me in ecstasy. But her stare, her eyes, her hair. She looked just like me.
Silly girl. A precious jewel. You’ll decorate my shelf perfectly. Let me break your chains away and set you free.
Then suddenly, I could see everything. Lost in the air, flying and fluttering. I had to see a different me.
Sever the ties of those closest to me.
How could this happen, do I have no say?
Come on, you knew it would end this way. Hurry up, it’s time to give up! You’re not happy, let’s have some fun, one on one. Honestly though, didn’t I grant your wish? Continue reading
Illustration by Manny Alvarado
Drawing by Nasira Justice
From the Oak Desk 