Category: Prose

Salvador’s Flower

the.amazineLeave a comment

by Alexander Valenzuela

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

‏‏‎I wiped the tears from my face, my parents’ voices still echoing through my head after they had told me that I wasn’t allowed to attend my dream school. I had the acceptance letter, I knew there was a chance they wouldn’t let me, but I thought that things would be different now that I had graduated from high school. I thought they’d let me go on my own. The thing is, I have no control over my future, only they do. They tend to talk about it whenever they think I’m not listening.

Read More »

Seagull Vignette

the.amazineLeave a comment

by Annemarie McCarthy

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

Next to me, Maisie brings the paper cup to her lips. The lukewarm chocolate has been given the go-ahead, deemed cool and safe enough for her to drink.

She slurps one, two, three. Pauses to blow bubbles into it, her nose stuck tip first into the liquid. Then her head rears back, nose wet and dripping and she releases a yowling scream into the air, a primal sound. Nobody at my table reacts.

Read More »

Onwards and Upwards

the.amazine1 Comment

by Bri Eberhart

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

Once a year, on a crisp autumn morning, fog stretches across the yard, disappearing into the thicket of trees surrounding my house.

The haze is alive, breathing heavily on my neck, beckoning and pulling me in deeper until I can no longer tell where it ends, and I begin.

Read More »

The Bus

the.amazine1 Comment

by Jessica Tan

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

The long, yellow bus screeches to a halt next to the curb as you lift your eyes up, watching the doors fan open for the first time this fall. You spent all morning organizing your school supplies, thinking of what your new schedule would be like. But first, you have to make the journey there. And if you had it your way, you would drive there yourself. If you were old enough.

Read More »

Twilight

the.amazine1 Comment

by Matias Travieso-Diaz

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

Around the valleys’ slopes the sky is already darkening;
Alone, two larks still soar, rapt in the twilight’s perfume.
Come here and let them flutter; soon it will be their time for rest.
Would that we not lose ourselves in this solitude.
O, utter, silent peace! So deep in the sun’s afterglow!
How weary we are of wandering: can this, perchance, be death?
– Joseph von Eichendorff – Im Abendrot (At Sunset)

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

Living had become difficult for Felix. He was feeble, arthritic, with an erratic heart and almost deaf. Many activities he had enjoyed in earlier years were now beyond his reach. Driving long distances was too tiring, and his daily runs had needed to be scaled down to strolls. Soon he would be relegated to one of those mausoleums where the elderly are stored awaiting the inevitable.

Read More »

Love Beans

the.amazineLeave a comment

by Katie Coleman

‎‏‏‎ ‎

Leena’s coffee mug perches on the counter, telling her, ‘You Are Loved.’ But then she withdraws her spoon and angles the mug to her lips. As she swallows, thoughts of far-flung jungles emerge, where coffee beans ripen, where buildings have fans, and local people sway as they pass by arms linked with elegant partners. 

Read More »

Anniversary

the.amazineLeave a comment

by William Cass

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

Carl pulled on his brown cardigan, gripped his cane, and left the house.  It was just after 6am, the charcoal sky ink-washed over rooftops to the east.  At the end of the driveway, the old man paused.  He looked to the left at the streets he’d grown accustomed to taking on his morning walks, then pressed his lips into a thin, tight line, blew out a breath, and turned right.

Read More »