I want to be gone. I want to be utterly gone. I was once gone, but now I am here, but now I am tired of being here and want to be gone. I have been here for so long and have been not gone for so long and I want to be gone like no one has been gone ever before. I used to be a sky-watcher when I was gone. I used to be a sky-watcher and know all the shapes in the sky. I used to know everything about the night sky, and the night sky knew everything about me when I was gone. Now I am here and there is no night sky. There is no darkness here. Here has no darkness but dark times. I had no dark times when I was gone, just the…
“The Nest” by Other Stories Podcast
We might be on the other side of Halloween, but that’s no reason why we can’t post a few more spooky stories! Presenting “The Nest” by Other Stories Podcast. No school. No parents. No way out. The disappearance of four single parents leads to an investigation by the children they leave behind. The youngsters are convinced that a sinister supernatural force is responsible. Jamie has been left a strange offering.Valerie has heard a screeching sound in the night sky.Raheem claims to have seen a creature with wings.Isabel believes that she knows the location of a ‘nest’. ACT 1 – JAMIE There’s something not quite right in Creekwood Pines. Jamie, a kid with far too much responsibility for a boy his age, returns home after a successful day playing truant to find his mother missing and his younger brother over…
“Wednesday in a Factory Town,” Poetry by John Grey
WEDNESDAY IN A FACTORY TOWN Sunlight succumbs to weather and chimney, fat gray clouds, much billowing of smoke. In a town of factories, faces stare, solemn and blackened like stove flues, through windows, as red eyes make tunnels in the gloom. Rivers wait like standing water for more dust and grime to fuel their current. Shoppers cough their way from store to store. Kids grub up without even trying. No sky as once was promised. Not even the church, chiming three o’clock, can get back God’s attention. ** EMMA, A MONTH BEYOND THE DEATH OF HER FATHER She can’t swerve to avoid the dead possum on the road without crashing through huddled sobbing mourners and braking just in time so she doesn’t topple down into the freshly dug hole, and smash headlong into her father’s…
The Hurricane Book: A Lyric History
New Creative Nonfiction by Claudia Acevedo-Quiñones How do we mark the passage of time? How do we reconcile what we remember of our life and those we love – and have loved – against the mutability of memory? Like author Marcel Proust (À la recherche du temps perdu), Ms. Acevedo-Quiñones grapples with her life growing up in Puerto Rico and her identity as a writer in Brooklyn, marking the journey with the island’s six great hurricanes of the 20th century. With our deep gratitude to Rose Metal Press for publishing this book, we herewith present excerpts from Claudia Acevedo-Quiñones’ remarkable work. These excerpts do not do full justice to her innovative narrative, so please read the book. Meet the author live tomorrow (Wednesday, November 8, 2023) evening, in conversation with poet Paolo Javier at the…
“Maeltopia” on Rusty Quill
In honor of the spookiest of holidays only a few days away, here is Maeltopia, a horror and dark fiction podcast featuring interconnected series and stories set in the ever-expanding literary world, hosted by Rusty Quill. Rusty Quill is an industry leading independent production company and podcast network. It was founded in 2015 and works to originate, find, develop, fund, produce and distribute exceptional media content around the world. “Marvin doesn’t have a shadow? Of course not. Marvin is the shadow.” – Helena The Great Darkness of 1999 left enigmatic structures and artifacts known as Obscuruum in its wake, casting a grim shadow over humanity. Years later, a mysterious organization called the Esoterium founds the Obscuary – a team of extraordinary individuals tasked with uncovering the secrets behind these sinister artifacts. Endowed with rare abilities, the…
“Baby Rando,” A Short Story by Robert Pope
Walt could not be more pleased with their baby boy, now they’d had him home a couple of weeks. With his fuzz of orange hair and sparkling green eyes, the child glowed. Rando laughed almost as soon as he came from the hospital. Ginger’s Dad called when he got back from The Islands. He could hardly believe it. He had given up hope of his only child making him a grandparent. Rando came three weeks early, fully formed, Walt informed Ginger’s Dad. Would you believe it? A father at forty-two, after a double bypass hit him wham, sucker punch to the solar plexus. Ten days later he had this fine scar down his naked chest. They took the few chest hairs he had before surgery. Never grew back. He missed them. He had given each…
“The Secret Society” by Rachel Gonzalez
“The Secret Society of the Women’s Bathroom” ~ An Audio Arts Short Story One of the most innovative and interesting positions we’ve developed here at The Fictional Café is the Writer in Residence. We choose a poet and a fiction-writer every two years from among our contributors, creative people in whom we see great merit and potential. We hope our two Writers in Residence, who are chosen in alternating years, will help FC grow in new creative directions, and we’ve not been disappointed. Be sure to click over to the Residency link to learn more about our Residency Program, past and present.Since assuming her new position in January, Rachel Gonzalez most assuredly has met and exceeded our criteria. One of the most innovative and distinctive ideas she came up with was to chronicle her hike up and down…
“Taking Daddy’s Photograph,” Poetry by Gopi Kottoor
Taking Daddy’s Photograph Daddy’, I said, ‘Stand by those shoe flowers, there are so many of them blooming this morning’. Daddy took a step back. There is a strange beauty, in the hibiscus sheen, when, from the fresh green the hundred shoe flowers mount red. Daddy now looked like he was some God coming to me in a dream of sacrifice. He puffed hard at his cigarette, its red butt putting all the hibiscuses to shame. Looking on into the camera eye, Daddy said, ‘Be careful, son, The sun is still in front of you. Don’t let in too much light’. I remember, I knelt down, so the lens could take the shade, holding him right. Dad smiled, as though in the camera eye Lay his only woman. And in that stained Hibiscus silence, Time…
“Out of the Far North” – A New Novel of International Intrigue
The Third Nir Tavor – Nicole le Roux Mossad Thriller, Just Published With over 100,000 copies of Operation Joktan and By Way of Deception in print, authors Amir Tsarfati and Steve Yohn deliver again with another pulse-pounding novel of international intrigue. Enriched by its being based on true events – as well as Tsarfati’s having been a major in the Israeli Defense Forces – your editors at The Fictional Café loved Out of the Far North and think you will, too. When the story begins we find Israeli Mossad secret agent Nir Tavor outside Damascus, Syria, bribing a road guard with a carton of Alhamraa cigarettes, and we’re off and running. The very contemporary backstory concerns Russia and Putin, who is furious and plotting revenge on Western energy markets. Europe, once reliant on Russian gas, have…
Mexico’s Legend of “La Llorona” in Story and Song
Debuting an Extraordinary Realization from Auteur Philip Gabbard and Fat Unicorn Society Studios The Fictional Café is thrilled to join in the worldwide release today of Philip Gabbard’s stunning work, “La Llorona.” He wrote the story, wrote and orchestrated the music, and produced this video, which features a heartbreakingly beautiful duet. This truly incredible visual portrayal of the legendary La Llorona stars Angela Muniz in her debut performance, accompanied by Mexican recording artist Federico Valdez. In just three minutes, “La Llorona” will take you on a journey through centuries of folklore and cultural heritage, revealed with a new artistic perspective on this age-old story. Take a listen, enjoy, peruse the lyrics and read the interview with Phil below. We would love for you to share your thoughts in the Comments section, and please share this post with…