1. Thanks for Reaching Out
By Michael Barrie
“You let life happen to you, Arthur. You never aimed high, took a risk or followed a passion. And who you were is who you still are.”
2. A Knock at the Door
By Daly Walker
The angry knocking woke him at 1:30 in the morning. What did the visitor want?
3. A Man of Few Words
By Cathy Mellett
Sam’s disability never caused him great problems in the past, but now that it is threatening his relationship with his daughter, can he set his pride aside?
4. All the Souls We Cannot Save
By Matthue Roth
“You can say with certitude, he might have died a hero, and know that could be true. It’s a gift that not many other people have. It’s probably not a gift that you want — it’s not what I would want for my own children — but it’s the gift you are given.”
5. Fifty Million Cents
By Amanda Irene Rush
To us, it’s just a Mello Yello, but to nine-year-old Joey, it is the most important thing in the world. And to his grandmother, it’s an opportunity.
6. All Happy Families
By Jesse Sherwood
He would never sit around waiting for someone to die, but his three daughters find themselves doing just that, waiting at his deathbed, trying to make sense of his past and their future.
7. Liz
By Rolli
“Friendship is important, but not friends, not really. People throw friends away. Even when they’re like family. They toss them out and find new ones.”
8. The Farmhouse
By W.T. Paterson
“The stillness of the land, the eclipsing beauty, it didn’t seem possible.”
9. The Very Last One
By Bryan Starchman
Nuclear holocaust is abhorrent, but eating your pets is just depressing.
10 .The Star
By E.C. Messer
Unintentionally and without his being fully aware of it, Ellert had come to represent the last gasp of a dying breed.
Featured image: Stefan Holm / Shutterstock
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