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458			
459				
460					<div id="post-5485" class="post-5485 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-uncategorized contain">
461
462						<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/03/11/we-are-coming-to-an-end/" rel="bookmark">We Are Coming to an&nbsp;End</a></h1>
463						<div class="byline">
464							By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/author/gtowell/">gtowell</a></span> on <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/03/11/we-are-coming-to-an-end/"><time datetime="2024-03-11T08:15:37-07:00" title="Posted at 8:15 am" pubdate>March 11, 2024</time></a>
465															| <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/03/11/we-are-coming-to-an-end/#comments">8 Comments</a>							
466							
467
468						</div>
469
470						<div class="entry-summary">
471
472							
473<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Dear Writers, Readers, and Friends,</p>
474
475
476
477<p class="wp-block-paragraph">After nearly a decade of storytelling, community building, and celebrating the unique art of microfiction, it is with a heavy heart that I announce the closure of Microfiction Monday Magazine. </p>
478
479
480
481<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This decision was not made lightly. It comes after much contemplation and realization that, due to various circumstances, we can no longer sustain the magazine at the level of quality and dedication it deserves. It&#8217;s been a journey filled with incredible tales, inspiring authors, and invaluable lessons. However, all stories, no matter how brief, have their conclusion, and for Microfiction Monday Magazine, that time has come.</p>
482
483
484
485<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Submissions and Feedback:</h2>
486
487
488
489<p class="wp-block-paragraph">We understand that many of you have submitted your work and have been waiting for a response. We deeply regret that we won&#8217;t be able to proceed with our usual review process. If you have not heard back from us regarding your submission, please assume that it is no longer under consideration. We encourage you to continue sharing your stories elsewhere, as the world always needs more storytellers.</p>
490
491
492
493<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Gratitude:</h2>
494
495
496
497<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Our heartfelt thanks go to every writer who trusted us with their stories, every reader who joined us week after week, and everyone who has been part of our journey. </p>
498
499
500
501<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Though the magazine is coming to an end, the spirit of microfiction continues. Keep writing, keep sharing, and keep making every word count. The end of Microfiction Monday Magazine is not the end of your storytelling journey.</p>
502
503
504
505<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While the magazine will no longer publish new content, our website will remain accessible for those who wish to revisit past stories. </p>
506
507
508
509<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In closing, thank you for being an integral part of Microfiction Monday Magazine. Here&#8217;s to all the stories that were, and all those yet to be written.</p>
510
511
512
513<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Warmest regards,</p>
514
515
516
517<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Gayle Towell</p>
518
519
520
521<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Founder, Microfiction Monday Magazine</p>
522
523							
524						</div><!-- .entry-summary -->
525
526						<div class="entry-meta">
527							Posted in: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/category/uncategorized/" rel="category tag">Uncategorized</a>													</div>
528
529					</div><!-- .hentry -->
530
531				
532					<div id="post-5379" class="post-5379 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-editions tag-ann-hillesland tag-cecilia-kennedy-2 tag-g-j-williams tag-ina-briar tag-marjan-sierhuis contain">
533
534						<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/02/12/microfiction-monday-218th-edition/" rel="bookmark">Microfiction Monday &#8211; 218th&nbsp;Edition</a></h1>
535						<div class="byline">
536							By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/author/gtowell/">gtowell</a></span> on <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/02/12/microfiction-monday-218th-edition/"><time datetime="2024-02-12T07:00:00-08:00" title="Posted at 7:00 am" pubdate>February 12, 2024</time></a>
537															| <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/02/12/microfiction-monday-218th-edition/#respond">Leave a comment</a>							
538							
539
540						</div>
541
542						<div class="entry-summary">
543
544							<div class="wp-block-image">
545<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/pavers-4525242_1920.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="5382" data-permalink="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/02/12/microfiction-monday-218th-edition/pavers-4525242_1920/" data-orig-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/pavers-4525242_1920.jpg" data-orig-size="1920,1280" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="pavers-4525242_1920" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/pavers-4525242_1920.jpg?w=620" width="1024" height="682" src="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/pavers-4525242_1920.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-5382" srcset="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/pavers-4525242_1920.jpg?w=1024 1024
545w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/pavers-4525242_1920.jpg?w=150 150w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/pavers-4525242_1920.jpg?w=300 300w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/pavers-4525242_1920.jpg?w=768 768w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/pavers-4525242_1920.jpg?w=1440 1440w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/pavers-4525242_1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>
546</div>
547
548
549<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Inheritance</h2>
550
551
552
553<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by <a href="https://www.annhillesland.com/">Ann Hillesland</a></p>
554
555
556
557<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Dad is cutting Mom in half while I watch. I know it’s an illusion, but from the wings it seems real— the anger in Dad’s eyes as he calmly wields the saw, the fear in Mom’s despite her stage smile. I’m forced to feel both—the seething resentment toward the woman who tied him down, and the agony of legs crammed in the box, of waiting for the blade to fall and finally take away all ability to run.</p>
558
559
560
561<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Gob-Smacked</h2>
562
563
564
565<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Marjan Sierhuis</p>
566
567
568
569<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In the morning, Piper collapses on her living room sofa. She opens one of the business-sized envelopes that she has removed from her front porch.</p>
570
571
572
573<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Ring.</p>
574
575
576
577<p class="wp-block-paragraph">She listens to the automated messaging system. Her heart beats rapidly in her chest, her hands tremble, and the phone slips from her grasp.</p>
578
579
580
581<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Several days later, more envelopes land on her porch.</p>
582
583
584
585<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Ring.</p>
586
587
588
589<p class="wp-block-paragraph">She takes a deep breath, swears into the microphone and then listens to the speaker.</p>
590
591
592
593<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Sorry, mother. I thought you were someone else.”</p>
594
595
596
597<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Piper decides it is time to move and change her service provider.</p>
598
599
600
601<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">How to Happen</h2>
602
603
604
605<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by G.J. Williams</p>
606
607
608
609<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Watch him sleep. How he scowls, mumbles, snorts, shudders, frets. I&#8217;ve yet to hear him wake with a shriek. But he&#8217;s getting there. The odd flail at first light. Bad dreams, he&#8217;ll say, nothing more. As ordinary as it gets. Were it not for those dreams he&#8217;d be brighteyed and bushytailed, no question. As if. How he sleeps is how it is. Who knows what world he wakes to. Other people&#8217;s daylight impossible to bask in. Friends hover, corners darken. He pales, gets paler, flirts with a statue, moons. He&#8217;ll continue or he&#8217;ll not. He panics: nothing is happening.</p>
610
611
612
613<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Move-In Day</h2>
614
615
616
617<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Cecilia Kennedy</p>
618
619
620
621<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The walls of the house lash out, whispering Mel’s name, telling her they’ve seen her hide some bodies.</p>
622
623
624
625<p class="wp-block-paragraph">An exorcism won’t do, so she calls a therapist instead.</p>
626
627
628
629<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“But do you feel scared?” the therapist asks.</p>
630
631
632
633<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“No—judged, which is worse.”</p>
634
635
636
637<p class="wp-block-paragraph">After her session, she paints over the walls, installs new floors, pushes ghost hands and feet into graves, posts the renovations, while the voices condemn her, but she sells the house and moves into a new one that’s freshly built. She digs her hands in her pockets, her fingers brushing old paint chips: a fine dust, ashes of whispers.</p>
638
639
640
641<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Famous Last Words</h2>
642
643
644
645<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Ina Briar</p>
646
647
648
649<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“It’s fine,” he said, wrapping the oily cloth around his thumb. He rolled back under the car, gripping the flashlight between his teeth.</p>
650
651
652
653<p class="wp-block-paragraph">His six-year-old threw up her hands and marched back to the house. “Mooom!”</p>
654
655
656
657<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sirens blared, clearing a line through traffic.</p>
658
659
660
661<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Another do-it-yourselfer,” grumbled the driver.</p>
662
663
664
665<p class="wp-block-paragraph">His wife watched them tow the car away. The service was at eleven. Flats, she decided, since she’d have to walk.</p>
666<div id="atatags-370373-6a77366a0ff3e">
667		
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676
677	</div>
678							
679						</div><!-- .entry-summary -->
680
681						<div class="entry-meta">
682							Posted in: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/category/editions/" rel="category tag">Editions</a>							| Tagged: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/ann-hillesland/" rel="tag">Ann Hillesland</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/cecilia-kennedy-2/" rel="tag">Cecilia Kennedy</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/g-j-williams/" rel="tag">G.J. Williams</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/ina-briar/" rel="tag">Ina Briar</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/marjan-sierhuis/" rel="tag">Marjan Sierhuis</a>						</div>
683
684					</div><!-- .hentry -->
685
686				
687					<div id="post-5373" class="post-5373 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-editions tag-amber-weinar tag-chung-suk-yu tag-david-m-wallace tag-laurie-kuntz tag-rachel-weinhaus contain">
688
689						<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/02/05/microfiction-monday-217th-edition/" rel="bookmark">Microfiction Monday &#8211; 217th&nbsp;Edition</a></h1>
690						<div class="byline">
691							By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/author/gtowell/">gtowell</a></span> on <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/02/05/microfiction-monday-217th-edition/"><time datetime="2024-02-05T07:00:00-08:00" title="Posted at 7:00 am" pubdate>February 5, 2024</time></a>
692															| <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/02/05/microfiction-monday-217th-edition/#respond">Leave a comment</a>							
693							
694
695						</div>
696
697						<div class="entry-summary">
698
699							<div class="wp-block-image">
700<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/persons-933564_1920.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="5376" data-permalink="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/02/05/microfiction-monday-217th-edition/persons-933564_1920/" data-orig-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/persons-933564_1920.jpg" data-orig-size="1920,1486" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="persons-933564_1920" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/persons-933564_1920.jpg?w=620" width="1024" height="792" src="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/persons-933564_1920.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-5376" srcset="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/persons-933564_1920.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/persons-933564_1920.jpg?w=150 150w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/persons-933564_1920.jpg?w=300 300w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/persons-933564_1920.jpg?w=768 768w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/persons-933564_1920.jpg?w=1440 1440w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/persons-933564_1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>
701</div>
702
703
704<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Lessons On Electricity</h2>
705
706
707
708<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by <a href="https://lauriekuntz.myportfolio.com/home-1">Laurie Kuntz</a></p>
709
710
711
712<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Who is culpable? The lights left burning when we’re no longer in rooms that we share together or alone. Who left it on? No cat or dog to blame, and our son is long gone to his own lighted place. When admonis
712hed for this faux pas, I don&#8217;t need the lecture on wattage and currents, or the waste of power. All I need to hear are three words, Lights off please, or maybe those other three words we should be saying more often in our lighted and darkened places.</p>
713
714
715
716<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Two Elderly Men with Dementia</h2>
717
718
719
720<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Chung-Suk Yu</p>
721
722
723
724<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Charlie and Bob are elderly roommates in a two-person room in the lockdown unit at the nursing home. Neither of them recognizes that they are roommates. At night these two men are trying to protect their shoes. When Charlie goes to sleep, he either hides his shoes under the bed or sleeps with the shoes on the bed. On the other hand, Bob carries his shoes to the living room where he used to sleep. The residents in the unit at the nursing home do not wear shoes but wear socks since they forgot how to put their shoes on.</p>
725
726
727
728<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Icy Heart</h2>
729
730
731
732<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Amber Weinar</p>
733
734
735
736<p class="wp-block-paragraph">You can tell it’s almost winter when it starts to rain, and the water crystalizes on impact. All it takes is one drop expanding. Your heartburn was similar. All it took was the pain to expand before the worrying struck. By then, it was too late. Initially undetectable, The spread was inevitable. Like a sheet of black ice you couldn’t prevent and had to drive over. The doctor asks why you didn’t come sooner. It’s hard to say when you felt fine yesterday. Maybe the doctors were wrong? The heart was overtaken by ice, and yet only my hope remained.</p>
737
738
739
740<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Business as Usual</h2>
741
742
743
744<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by <a href="http://davidmwallace.ca">David M Wallace</a></p>
745
746
747
748<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Dusk in September after a rain. Street lamps spread their white steeples of light around the wooded park. Here is where the flying termites convene, as reckless as early aviators in close quarters combat.</p>
749
750
751
752<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Supper is done. An hour of liberty. Children charge down porches armed with corn brooms. In this vespering hour, they knock all those stars from the sky and pluck out their silver veined wings.</p>
753
754
755
756<p class="wp-block-paragraph">And this is a skill that will come in handy later in life. In the real world. Where the mighty will thrive and the vulnerable will need a bit of a trimming.</p>
757
758
759
760<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Whack</h2>
761
762
763
764<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by <a href="http://www.rachelweinhaus.com">Rachel Weinhaus</a></p>
765
766
767
768<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I was too young to attend the funeral, too young to understand grief. I remember watching my older brother through a window. Mark and Andrew, sixteen, had been best friends. After Andrew killed himself, Mark went outside to hit rocks with a wiffle ball bat. He’d scour the ground for the perfect-sized rock, pick it up, and toss it in the air. Then, with all his might, he swung the bat. Over and over again. Scour the ground. Pick up a rock. Toss it in the air. Swing the bat. I remember the sound; it cracked the sky in half.</p>
769
770							
771						</div><!-- .entry-summary -->
772
773						<div class="entry-meta">
774							Posted in: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/category/editions/" rel="category tag">Editions</a>							| Tagged: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/amber-weinar/" rel="tag">Amber Weinar</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/chung-suk-yu/" rel="tag">Chung-Suk Yu</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/david-m-wallace/" rel="tag">David M Wallace</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/laurie-kuntz/" rel="tag">Laurie Kuntz</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/rachel-weinhaus/" rel="tag">Rachel Weinhaus</a>						</div>
775
776					</div><!-- .hentry -->
777
778				
779					<div id="post-5323" class="post-5323 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-editions tag-g-j-williams tag-johannes-springenseiss tag-sara-merkin tag-tiffany-farr tag-tom-gadd contain">
780
781						<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/01/29/microfiction-monday-216th-edition/" rel="bookmark">Microfiction Monday &#8211; 216th&nbsp;Edition</a></h1>
782						<div class="byline">
783							By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/author/gtowell/">gtowell</a></span> on <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/01/29/microfiction-monday-216th-edition/"><time datetime="2024-01-29T07:00:00-08:00" title="Posted at 7:00 am" pubdate>January 29, 2024</time></a>
784															| <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/01/29/microfiction-monday-216th-edition/#respond">Leave a comment</a>							
785							
786
787						</div>
788
789						<div class="entry-summary">
790
791							<div class="wp-block-image">
792<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/chamber-5264172_1920.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="5325" data-permalink="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/01/29/microfiction-monday-216th-edition/chamber-5264172_1920/" data-orig-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/chamber-5264172_1920.jpg" data-orig-size="1920,1440" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="chamber-5264172_1920" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/chamber-5264172_1920.jpg?w=620" width="1024" height="768" src="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/chamber-5264172_1920.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-5325" srcset="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/chamber-5264172_1920.jpg?w=1024 1024
792w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/chamber-5264172_1920.jpg?w=150 150w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/chamber-5264172_1920.jpg?w=300 300w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/chamber-5264172_1920.jpg?w=768 768w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/chamber-5264172_1920.jpg?w=1440 1440w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/chamber-5264172_1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>
793</div>
794
795
796<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Dayenu</h2>
797
798
799
800<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by <a href="https://saramerkinwriting.tumblr.com/">Sara Merkin</a></p>
801
802
803
804<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Maybe if she could just let him plan a date. If he could plan a date. Maybe if she wasn’t so controlling. If he wasn’t so disorganized. If she could just trust his compliments. If he could learn that ‘your tits are amazing’ wasn’t enough to make her feel attractive. If she had the courage to ask for what she needed. If he didn’t put his needs first. Maybe if she wasn’t so afraid of being abandoned. Maybe If he wasn’t so afraid of commitment. Maybe if this wasn’t true for all the relationships she’d had, she could be happy.</p>
805
806
807
808<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Maria Jumps into a Big Blue Mouth</h2>
809
810
811
812<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Tiffany Farr</p>
813
814
815
816<p class="wp-block-paragraph">She nestled into the corner of the suitcase. Nose tucked under tail, trying to hide within herself. First day home from the rescue and learning her triggers. Who knew dogs could understand the concept of leaving? It’s possible permeance.</p>
817
818
819
820<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The motions of handling my jumbo-sized hard-scuffed suitcase, warmly named Big Blue, were fluid. I found unpacking a suitcase harmless, but the instinct etched into her body said Jump inside! Don’t be left behind!</p>
821
822
823
824<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Consider the body of a newly homed six-pound pup. The shaking and panting, pointed ears that don’t twitch when your mouth forms the words “Maria” and “Home.”</p>
825
826
827
828<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Wentwell</h2>
829
830
831
832<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by G.J. Williams</p>
833
834
835
836<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Eyes pink veined, it was Wentwell alright. What formerly loomed now stooped, what had radiated now oozed. He seemed all overcoat. He took his plate of food and sat away from the others. Of all people. Mr Wentwell. Geography. He of the sly cigarette and extracurricular punishments. Keeping his eyes to himself.</p>
837
838
839
840<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">The Award</h2>
841
842
843
844<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Johannes Springenseiss</p>
845
846
847
848<p class="wp-block-paragraph">After the committee handed her the Widows of the Revolution plaque and a manilla envelope containing cash that was more money than the annual salary of most of us, we could hardly wait until they left.</p>
849
850
851
852<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It was entirely up to her how to spend the money, after all grandpa had been one of the first martyrs of the uprising, and she herself had worked in various underground hospitals the entire time.</p>
853
854
855
856<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“First we’re going to buy new sturdy suitcases and waterproof boots for us. When the wind changes, we’ll have to get out of here in a jiffy.”</p>
857
858
859
860<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">On Watching Lawn Maintenance Videos</h2>
861
862
863
864<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Tom Gadd</p>
865
866
867
868<p class="wp-block-paragraph">There are videos, now, of lawn vigilantes, who knock on the doors of houses where yard grasses are reaching toward fulfillment and tiny furred creatures find solace and insects dip themselves into the pollen of wildflowers and he watches as all that life is hacked and harassed with mowers and edgers and whackers. Watches abundance converted into easy geometry. Watches one lawn maintenance video after the next in his one-bedroom apartment. In the city he grudgingly moved to for work. Where the sight of a thistle hunkered in a sidewalk crack fills him with equal amounts of hope and despair.</p>
869
870							
871						</div><!-- .entry-summary -->
872
873						<div class="entry-meta">
874							Posted in: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/category/editions/" rel="category tag">Editions</a>							| Tagged: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/g-j-williams/" rel="tag">G.J. Williams</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/johannes-springenseiss/" rel="tag">Johannes Springenseiss</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/sara-merkin/" rel="tag">Sara Merkin</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/tiffany-farr/" rel="tag">Tiffany Farr</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/tom-gadd/" rel="tag">Tom Gadd</a>						</div>
875
876					</div><!-- .hentry -->
877
878				
879					<div id="post-5318" class="post-5318 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-editions tag-david-m-wallace tag-laura-shell tag-sam-anders tag-sara-merkin tag-tom-gadd contain">
880
881						<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/01/22/microfiction-monday-215th-edition/" rel="bookmark">Microfiction Monday &#8211; 215th&nbsp;Edition</a></h1>
882						<div class="byline">
883							By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/author/gtowell/">gtowell</a></span> on <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/01/22/microfiction-monday-215th-edition/"><time datetime="2024-01-22T07:00:00-08:00" title="Posted at 7:00 am" pubdate>January 22, 2024</time></a>
884															| <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/01/22/microfiction-monday-215th-edition/#respond">Leave a comment</a>							
885							
886
887						</div>
888
889						<div class="entry-summary">
890
891							<div class="wp-block-image">
892<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/white-318525_1920.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="5320" data-permalink="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/01/22/microfiction-monday-215th-edition/white-318525_1920/" data-orig-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/white-318525_1920.jpg" data-orig-size="1920,1440" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="white-318525_1920" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/white-318525_1920.jpg?w=620" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="768" src="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/white-318525_1920.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-5320" srcset="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/white-318525_1920.jpg?w=1024 1024
892w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/white-318525_1920.jpg?w=150 150w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/white-318525_1920.jpg?w=300 300w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/white-318525_1920.jpg?w=768 768w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/white-318525_1920.jpg?w=1440 1440w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/white-318525_1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>
893</div>
894
895
896<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Really</h2>
897
898
899
900<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Laura Shell</p>
901
902
903
904<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Your name is Really because it was all I could think to say as you marched across my lawn. Your pitted, black scorpion body. Your gray wolf head with drooling smile. Your stinger tail you swivel in all directions and snap like a bullwhip. I filmed you on my phone that day, and then I said, &#8220;Really?&#8221; The video went ultra viral. You stand by my front door—an alien sentinel. Do you have a crush? You let me stroke the gray hair on your wolf face. Just below your ear. If you were a cat, you would have purred.</p>
905
906
907
908<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Problem Child</h2>
909
910
911
912<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by <a href="http://davidmwallace.ca">David M Wallace</a></p>
913
914
915
916<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Dolly knew only the rules of her game and did not notice the other games being played. She thought she had a home, an annoying little sister, parents who could sometimes be persuaded and who sometimes must be obeyed.</p>
917
918
919
920<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But her parents were divorcing. The court would decide with whom she would live. The market assigned a portion of the asking price to what had been her bedroom. District boundaries led to a new school and no friends. The clinic determined a diagnosis and prescribed a medication.</p>
921
922
923
924<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Years later, newly sober, she confessed she’d made some bad life choices.</p>
925
926
927
928<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Restless</h2>
929
930
931
932<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by <a href="https://saramerkinwriting.tumblr.com/">Sara Merkin</a></p>
933
934
935
936<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Is it creepy to stare at him while he sleeps? You’re not sure. Still, you lay there, counting each blackhead-filled pore on his crooked nose. Fourteen–wait–seventeen on the tip. His breath smells like bourbon, but you were the only one that drank. Up the bridge makes twenty-two. Was he still mad? No, his sleeping body was too still, too relaxed for anger. Thirty-eight. You mimic his breathing, an attempt to drift off. Forty-seven total. At least he kissed you goodnight. Your eyes shut but your mind doesn’t. He might still be mad. Damn, pores are a sorry replacement for sheep.</p>
937
938
939
940<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">During an Overdue Oil Change</h2>
941
942
943
944<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Tom Gadd</p>
945
946
947
948<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The undercarriage of the car floats in the oil pan. Breaks into ever expanding circles. Reforms and breaks again. Like our lives, he thinks beneath the car they bought together that he visits now only when she phones about a strange ticking sound or another stall that made their child late for school.<br>And here are her feet. Just her feet. Toenails flaking pink paint. The daisy chain tattoo circling her ankle. And an opened beer she’s placed on the garage floor.<br>How does it look?<br>Looks like heaven, he wants to answer but he says good. It’s all good.</p>
949
950
951
952<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Marital Gratitude</h2>
953
954
955
956<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by <a href="https://sam-anders.com">Sam Anders</a></p>
957
958
959
960<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In winter he makes soup for my dinner while he’s working at the restaurant. The eggplant creaminess is dark, satiny, subtle, and surprising, like my husband. He might flirt with butternut squash risotto or seduce with the aroma of roast duck. On the day of our son’s birth, I arrived home to feast on his gift of gratitude: lemony sautéed soft-shell crab. I am more fluent in words than in actions, but he understands how much I love him when I make his tea or walk the dog on a cold night, though it’s his turn.</p>
961
962							
963						</div><!-- .entry-summary -->
964
965						<div class="entry-meta">
966							Posted in: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/category/editions/" rel="category tag">Editions</a>							| Tagged: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/david-m-wallace/" rel="tag">David M Wallace</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/laura-shell/" rel="tag">Laura Shell</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/sam-anders/" rel="tag">Sam Anders</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/sara-merkin/" rel="tag">Sara Merkin</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/tom-gadd/" rel="tag">Tom Gadd</a>						</div>
967
968					</div><!-- .hentry -->
969
970				
971					<div id="post-5313" class="post-5313 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-editions tag-char-rennes tag-david-m-wallace tag-jessica-klimesh tag-laura-shell tag-matthew-schultz contain">
972
973						<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/01/15/microfiction-monday-214th-edition/" rel="bookmark">Microfiction Monday &#8211; 214th&nbsp;Edition</a></h1>
974						<div class="byline">
975							By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/author/gtowell/">gtowell</a></span> on <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/01/15/microfiction-monday-214th-edition/"><time datetime="2024-01-15T07:00:00-08:00" title="Posted at 7:00 am" pubdate>January 15, 2024</time></a>
976															| <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/01/15/microfiction-monday-214th-edition/#respond">Leave a comment</a>							
977							
978
979						</div>
980
981						<div class="entry-summary">
982
983							<div class="wp-block-image">
984<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/statue-4247494_1920.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="5315" data-permalink="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/01/15/microfiction-monday-214th-edition/statue-4247494_1920/" data-orig-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/statue-4247494_1920.jpg" data-orig-size="1920,1275" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="statue-4247494_1920" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/statue-4247494_1920.jpg?w=620" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="680" src="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/statue-4247494_1920.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-5315" srcset="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/statue-4247494_1920.jpg?w=1024 1024
984w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/statue-4247494_1920.jpg?w=150 150w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/statue-4247494_1920.jpg?w=300 300w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/statue-4247494_1920.jpg?w=768 768w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/statue-4247494_1920.jpg?w=1440 1440w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/statue-4247494_1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>
985</div>
986
987
988<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">German Trains</h2>
989
990
991
992<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by <a href="http://davidmwallace.ca">David M Wallace</a></p>
993
994
995
996<p class="wp-block-paragraph">First it was the beer. Uncorrupted beer. The commandment: Water, barley and hops. Simplicity.<br>Second came these ingredients, nailed to the church door: Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura.<br>Third was that spud, Philosophy, pared down to Pure Reason.<br>Fourth, the Reich and those immaculate weapons. Purgation and flames.<br>And now, a hair shirt and a stringent orthodoxy. A secular temple to correct thought, correct action. Perfectly sorted trash.<br>Why is it that every time we board a train for Jerusalem, we end up in Munich?</p>
997
998
999
1000<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Bye-Over</h2>
1001
1002
1003
1004<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by <a href="http://jessicaklimesh.com">Jessica Klimesh</a></p>
1005
1006
1007
1008<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Benny and Jenny float back to the start like defeated, sputtering balloons. What now? Benny says, and Jenny shrugs. What now? Jenny says, and Benny shrugs. Together, with sordid reluctance, they shrug their way through seasons they never expected to see. Benny’s azaleas bloom, and Jenny gets promoted. Rain runs rogue from willing gutters, forms a puddle in their yard that soon becomes a lake. Neighbors call out the obvious, hey, you’re still here, feign cheap ignorance. Benny and Jenny kiss each other’s hesitant lips because duty calls, and moths fly toward the light, igniting death like paper and match.</p>
1009
1010
1011
1012<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Dine and Dash</h2>
1013
1014
1015
1016<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Char Rennes</p>
1017
1018
1019
1020<p class="wp-block-paragraph">You never know when someone will fuck your whole day. They came five minutes to closing, ordered a lot and ate slow &#8211; thanks, dudes. Can’t close, guess I’ll scroll my phone and get high. When they split you wouldn’t believe how fast I locked up. But I was frickin high cause I didn’t see them behind the counter with their guns but I was done. “You couldn’t, like, do this when you walked in?! You know what? I quit.” I stomped out, drove home and told Dad I lost my job and sat through his bullshit all night.</p>
1021
1022
1023
1024<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Mom</h2>
1025
1026
1027
1028<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Laura Shell</p>
1029
1030
1031
1032<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Mom had stopped bathing, had developed a rash beneath her right breast that looked like measles. She&#8217;d stopped curling her hair and wore perpetual bedhead like a hat. Her makeup bag remained at the bottom of a bathroom drawer instead of on the bathroom counter. No more dressing up, just the same three outfits, all pajamas, usually inside out and backwards. No more healthy meals, only fast food burgers via delivery, and bedtime snacks of cookies and gummies hidden in her nightstand drawer with her Oxycodone.<br>Did she know the end was near?<br>Why didn&#8217;t she tell me about it?</p>
1033
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1035
1036<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Poughkeepsie/Persephone</h2>
1037
1038
1039
1040<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Matthew Schultz</p>
1041
1042
1043
1044<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Slow steam rises from a perfect circle carved into crumbling asphalt beneath blinking yellow traffic lights that flash staccato warnings like the beacon of a north shore lighthouse shouting madly through the brume. The heavy steel water works cover has been removed and set to the side as if the moon about to slide before the sun. Traffic lights blink a brief solar eclipse and she appears ascending from beneath the avenue wearing a reflective safety vest and a golden helmet. She holds a wrench and ratchet like a queen brandishing sword and scepter, like Parmenides returning from the underworld.</p>
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1047						</div><!-- .entry-summary -->
1048
1049						<div class="entry-meta">
1050							Posted in: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/category/editions/" rel="category tag">Editions</a>							| Tagged: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/char-rennes/" rel="tag">Char Rennes</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/david-m-wallace/" rel="tag">David M Wallace</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/jessica-klimesh/" rel="tag">Jessica Klimesh</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/laura-shell/" rel="tag">Laura Shell</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/matthew-schultz/" rel="tag">Matthew Schultz</a>						</div>
1051
1052					</div><!-- .hentry -->
1053
1054				
1055					<div id="post-5308" class="post-5308 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-editions tag-adam-snider tag-becky-neher tag-brandy-reinke tag-david-sydney tag-john-szamosi contain">
1056
1057						<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/01/08/microfiction-monday-213th-edition/" rel="bookmark">Microfiction Monday &#8211; 213th&nbsp;Edition</a></h1>
1058						<div class="byline">
1059							By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/author/gtowell/">gtowell</a></span> on <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/01/08/microfiction-monday-213th-edition/"><time datetime="2024-01-08T07:00:00-08:00" title="Posted at 7:00 am" pubdate>January 8, 2024</time></a>
1060															| <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/01/08/microfiction-monday-213th-edition/#comments">1 Comment</a>							
1061							
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1063						</div>
1064
1065						<div class="entry-summary">
1066
1067							<div class="wp-block-image">
1068<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pxclimateaction-4684217_1920.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="5310" data-permalink="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2024/01/08/microfiction-monday-213th-edition/pxclimateaction-4684217_1920/" data-orig-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pxclimateaction-4684217_1920.jpg" data-orig-size="1920,1280" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="pxclimateaction-4684217_1920" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pxclimateaction-4684217_1920.jpg?w=620" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="682" src="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pxclimateaction-4684217_1920.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-5310" srcset="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pxclimateaction-4684217_1920.jpg?w=1024 1024
1068w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pxclimateaction-4684217_1920.jpg?w=150 150w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pxclimateaction-4684217_1920.jpg?w=300 300w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pxclimateaction-4684217_1920.jpg?w=768 768w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pxclimateaction-4684217_1920.jpg?w=1440 1440w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pxclimateaction-4684217_1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>
1069</div>
1070
1071
1072<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">The Not So Merry Men</h2>
1073
1074
1075
1076<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by David Sydney</p>
1077
1078
1079
1080<p class="wp-block-paragraph">&#8220;We&#8217;ve got problems.&#8221;<br>&#8220;What&#8217;d you mean?&#8221;<br>&#8220;It&#8217;s not working.&#8221; Little John explained that the men weren&#8217;t merry.<br>First, they robbed from the rich, as Robin had instructed. They gave to the poor. But, then, they robbed from the newly-rich to give to the poor who formally were well-off. It was not only repetitively confusing but also exhausting after a while. It was too much.<br>Robin was at a loss. He turned from Little John to the Friar.<br>&#8220;What&#8217;d you think, Tuck?&#8221;<br>&#8220;I&#8217;d use the religious solution.&#8221;<br>&#8220;You mean?&#8221;<br>&#8220;We have one last robbery. And, then, keep everything for ourselves.&#8221;<br>&#8220;Exactly.&#8221;</p>
1081
1082
1083
1084<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Transitional Pains</h2>
1085
1086
1087
1088<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Adam Snider</p>
1089
1090
1091
1092<p class="wp-block-paragraph">On a park bench, he wallows in boredom. Three weeks after the bar exam, the immediate unshackling freedom dissipated, he sits in a hole dug with obsessive studying, refusing calls, and ignoring texts. For months, he hadn’t watched a movie, checked social media, or listened to music.</p>
1093
1094
1095
1096<p class="wp-block-paragraph">He absentmindedly watches a child wind up a toy robot and let it run. Her mother calls, and she abandons it. Its key slows and stops, and it falls over. Its eyes point at him. They stare at each other. Motionless.</p>
1097
1098
1099
1100<p class="wp-block-paragraph">He blinks, winds himself up, and speeds off to apply for jobs.</p>
1101
1102
1103
1104<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Mansion at the Beach or Cabin at the Lake</h2>
1105
1106
1107
1108<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Brandy Reinke</p>
1109
1110
1111
1112<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Eight years before me a person convinced you your insides should not show on the outside.<br>You agreed. When you tell me I think of your shoulders so broad, so beautiful how they curve, how precisely they fit under my palms. I thought you made them so I could anchor myself to you. I guess in a way they did. When you tell me ‘No, in fact, they were made out of survival,’ I no longer want to drape myself across them. They no longer seem like they can bear my weight.</p>
1113
1114
1115
1116<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Mutations</h2>
1117
1118
1119
1120<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Becky Neher</p>
1121
1122
1123
1124<p class="wp-block-paragraph">&#8220;You do not have cancer,&#8221; she said.<br>My heart sank.<br>She had been my biggest supporter for twenty years. Down-to-earth, whip smart, kind-hearted. Lately, though, diseases were &#8220;states of mind&#8221; stemming from &#8220;modern culture&#8217;s toxicity.&#8221; Remedies were only a juice cleanse and several ImmuNature pills away.<br>I exhaled, wondering how I&#8217;d cope through the chemo.</p>
1125
1126
1127
1128<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Philosophy</h2>
1129
1130
1131
1132<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by John Szamosi</p>
1133
1134
1135
1136<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The past is only what’s in our recollection; what we’ve forgotten might as well have never happened. The part of future that’s predictable is only a continuation of the present, and the rest is complete surprise, delightful or devastating. The present is happening to us, that is, it’s not our doing, and by the time we understand what’s going on, it’s too late. Another opportunity missed, another error made.<br>There’s always confusion.<br>That’s why people, especially in big cities and in Alaska, keep muttering to themselves.</p>
1137
1138							
1139						</div><!-- .entry-summary -->
1140
1141						<div class="entry-meta">
1142							Posted in: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/category/editions/" rel="category tag">Editions</a>							| Tagged: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/adam-snider/" rel="tag">Adam Snider</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/becky-neher/" rel="tag">Becky Neher</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/brandy-reinke/" rel="tag">Brandy Reinke</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/david-sydney/" rel="tag">David Sydney</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/john-szamosi/" rel="tag">John Szamosi</a>						</div>
1143
1144					</div><!-- .hentry -->
1145
1146				
1147					<div id="post-5277" class="post-5277 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-uncategorized contain">
1148
1149						<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2023/12/18/holiday-break/" rel="bookmark">Holiday Break</a></h1>
1150						<div class="byline">
1151							By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/author/gtowell/">gtowell</a></span> on <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2023/12/18/holiday-break/"><time datetime="2023-12-18T08:00:39-08:00" title="Posted at 8:00 am" pubdate>December 18, 2023</time></a>
1152															| <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2023/12/18/holiday-break/#respond">Leave a comment</a>							
1153							
1154
1155						</div>
1156
1157						<div class="entry-summary">
1158
1159							
1160<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Microfiction Monday Magazine is on a short break over the holidays. Feel free to keep reading and submitting &#8211; we will be back with a new edition on January 8th, 2024!</p>
1161
1162
1163<div class="wp-block-image">
1164<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/snowflakes-1014159_1920.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="5279" data-permalink="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2023/12/18/holiday-break/snowflakes-1014159_1920/" data-orig-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/snowflakes-1014159_1920.jpg" data-orig-size="1920,1371" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="snowflakes-1014159_1920" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/snowflakes-1014159_1920.jpg?w=620" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="731" src="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/snowflakes-1014159_1920.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-5279" srcset="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/snowflakes-1014159_1920.jpg?w=1024 1024
1164w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/snowflakes-1014159_1920.jpg?w=150 150w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/snowflakes-1014159_1920.jpg?w=300 300w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/snowflakes-1014159_1920.jpg?w=768 768w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/snowflakes-1014159_1920.jpg?w=1440 1440w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/snowflakes-1014159_1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>
1165</div>
1166							
1167						</div><!-- .entry-summary -->
1168
1169						<div class="entry-meta">
1170							Posted in: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/category/uncategorized/" rel="category tag">Uncategorized</a>													</div>
1171
1172					</div><!-- .hentry -->
1173
1174				
1175					<div id="post-5237" class="post-5237 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-editions tag-f-d-jackson tag-g-j-williams tag-kristen-smith tag-luanne-castle tag-zebulon-huset contain">
1176
1177						<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2023/12/11/microfiction-monday-212th-edition/" rel="bookmark">Microfiction Monday &#8211; 212th&nbsp;Edition</a></h1>
1178						<div class="byline">
1179							By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/author/gtowell/">gtowell</a></span> on <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2023/12/11/microfiction-monday-212th-edition/"><time datetime="2023-12-11T07:00:00-08:00" title="Posted at 7:00 am" pubdate>December 11, 2023</time></a>
1180															| <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2023/12/11/microfiction-monday-212th-edition/#comments">2 Comments</a>							
1181							
1182
1183						</div>
1184
1185						<div class="entry-summary">
1186
1187							<div class="wp-block-image">
1188<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/vintage-1794747_1920.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="5239" data-permalink="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2023/12/11/microfiction-monday-212th-edition/vintage-1794747_1920/" data-orig-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/vintage-1794747_1920.jpg" data-orig-size="1209,1920" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="vintage-1794747_1920" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/vintage-1794747_1920.jpg?w=620" loading="lazy" width="645" height="1024" src="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/vintage-1794747_1920.jpg?w=645" alt="" class="wp-image-5239" srcset="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/vintage-1794747_1920.jpg?w=645 645w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/vintage-1794747_1920.jpg?w=94 94w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/vintage-1794747_1920.jpg?w=189 189w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/vintage-1794747_1920.jpg?w=768 768w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/vintage-1794747_1920.jpg 1209w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px" /></a></figure>
1189</div>
1190
1191
1192<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">There Is No Pirate Treasure in Indiana</h2>
1193
1194
1195
1196<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Zebulon Huset</p>
1197
1198
1199
1200<p class="wp-block-paragraph">They knew it wasn’t likely that pirates had made their way as far inland as Indiana, but they still couldn’t wait to find some sort of buried treasure in their back woods. It was in all of the movies. It wasn’t until the girls found a third human femur in the way of their treasure hunting that the police cordoned off the woods, ending their adventures for good—and sparking a lifelong interest in forensics for one sister, and something darker in the second which laid dormant for years until she found a local mentor, years before the police would.</p>
1201
1202
1203
1204<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Bernie&#8217;s Buyin&#8217;</h2>
1205
1206
1207
1208<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kirsten.wanders/">Kirsten Smith</a></p>
1209
1210
1211
1212<p class="wp-block-paragraph">He shouldn’t, but he’s doin’ it anyway.</p>
1213
1214
1215
1216<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Bernie can’t afford to sit here, the one bar in this half-horse town, buying the rest of us codgers rounds. I ‘spect we’re drinking grocery money.</p>
1217
1218
1219
1220<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Anything ya like,” Bernie repeats, saluting us, his pals, with a Co
1220ors that’s surely gone warm.</p>
1221
1222
1223
1224<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Wives’ll soon be after us.</p>
1225
1226
1227
1228<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I wonder if this has to do with Annie’s recent passing. They never had kids. It’s just him and that mutt in the trailer out on the prairie.</p>
1229
1230
1231
1232<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“You like dogs, don’tcha, Lou?” Bernie asks, an imploring look in his eye. “You like old Buddy, dont’cha?”</p>
1233
1234
1235
1236<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Friends With Guns</h2>
1237
1238
1239
1240<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by F.D. Jackson</p>
1241
1242
1243
1244<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The circumstances have suddenly changed; Will had been pounding Caleb in the face. Caleb has the upper hand now, pulling Will across the yard by his dislocated arm, Will howling in pain. Caleb slams Will’s head against the 47 Chevy’s wheel well.</p>
1245
1246
1247
1248<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A shot reverberates through the trees. Caleb leans over Will with his head resting on Will’s left shoulder. A hole the size of a child’s hand is just over the spot where Caleb’s heart would have been.</p>
1249
1250
1251
1252<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Will is wide-eyed, holding his breath, blood and tissue smattered on his face and in his hair. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.</p>
1253
1254
1255
1256<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Manchild</h2>
1257
1258
1259
1260<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by G.J. Williams</p>
1261
1262
1263
1264<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In another life she&#8217;s on her way upstairs, her feet bare, the carpet deep. No one&#8217;ll say nothing doing. She&#8217;ll climb. She&#8217;ll run a bath, go for aromatic and take her time, knowing there&#8217;s no man sitting on the bottom step. The stairs are clear. Music is a distinct possibility.</p>
1265
1266
1267
1268<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">This is Why She Never Gets Anything Accomplished</h2>
1269
1270
1271
1272<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by <a href="https://www.luannecastle.com/">Luanne Castle</a></p>
1273
1274
1275
1276<p class="wp-block-paragraph">She deftly placed some curves in her sketchbook until the vague shape of an elephant sitting on an overturned classroom wastebasket appeared. She erased the back and redrew, adding skin folds. After she finished water coloring, she signed the piece. That’s when a foot lifted off the page. The other feet followed suit, and the trunk wrapped around her pencil, so she reluctantly released it. The elephant erased itself, letting the colors float out the window.</p>
1277
1278							
1279						</div><!-- .entry-summary -->
1280
1281						<div class="entry-meta">
1282							Posted in: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/category/editions/" rel="category tag">Editions</a>							| Tagged: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/f-d-jackson/" rel="tag">F.D. Jackson</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/g-j-williams/" rel="tag">G.J. Williams</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/kristen-smith/" rel="tag">Kristen Smith</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/luanne-castle/" rel="tag">Luanne Castle</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/zebulon-huset/" rel="tag">Zebulon Huset</a>						</div>
1283
1284					</div><!-- .hentry -->
1285
1286				
1287					<div id="post-5229" class="post-5229 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-editions tag-brandy-reinke tag-f-d-jackson tag-joseph-howse tag-roman-albertson tag-scott-burnam contain">
1288
1289						<h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2023/12/04/microfiction-monday-211th-edition/" rel="bookmark">Microfiction Monday &#8211; 211th&nbsp;Edition</a></h1>
1290						<div class="byline">
1291							By <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/author/gtowell/">gtowell</a></span> on <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2023/12/04/microfiction-monday-211th-edition/"><time datetime="2023-12-04T07:00:00-08:00" title="Posted at 7:00 am" pubdate>December 4, 2023</time></a>
1292															| <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2023/12/04/microfiction-monday-211th-edition/#respond">Leave a comment</a>							
1293							
1294
1295						</div>
1296
1297						<div class="entry-summary">
1298
1299							<div class="wp-block-image">
1300<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/rain-2538429_1920-1.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="5234" data-permalink="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/2023/12/04/microfiction-monday-211th-edition/rain-2538429_1920-1/" data-orig-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/rain-2538429_1920-1.jpg" data-orig-size="1920,1280" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="rain-2538429_1920-1" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/rain-2538429_1920-1.jpg?w=620" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="682" src="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/rain-2538429_1920-1.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-5234" srcset="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/rain-2538429_1920-1.jpg?w=1024 1024
1300w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/rain-2538429_1920-1.jpg?w=150 150w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/rain-2538429_1920-1.jpg?w=300 300w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/rain-2538429_1920-1.jpg?w=768 768w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/rain-2538429_1920-1.jpg?w=1440 1440w, https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/rain-2538429_1920-1.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>
1301</div>
1302
1303
1304<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Eyebrow</h2>
1305
1306
1307
1308<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Brandy Reinke</p>
1309
1310
1311
1312<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Blanket around our shoulders, ankles crossed, mine crossed again over the top of yours. The rubber soles of my slippers do not stop the rain that drips off the edge of the roof from seeping through to my feet. The smell of it- wood and wet-is why we are outside. The snick of the lighter in my hand is loud. You watch me bring the cigarette to my mouth.</p>
1313
1314
1315
1316<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>I hate when you do that.</em></p>
1317
1318
1319
1320<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>I hate when you do that</em>, I say back, grateful for the edge of my right eyebrow, how I can make it arch up.</p>
1321
1322
1323
1324<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Unbelievable</h2>
1325
1326
1327
1328<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by <a href="https://nummist.com/stories/">Joseph Howse</a></p>
1329
1330
1331
1332<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I mean, who are you gonna believe, the ones in the kitchen or the ones in the dining room? There&#8217;s a flambé to light and a grandfather in ashes. He was a yachtsman and a sportsman and a man, oh, man! Quite a businessman. And how many times he shoved her down the stairs. And if she divorced him he&#8217;d get the kid.</p>
1333
1334
1335
1336<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Endless Grays</h2>
1337
1338
1339
1340<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Roman Albertson</p>
1341
1342
1343
1344<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Those I met in the other place speak only of gray.</p>
1345
1346
1347
1348<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I first sought the ferryman’s advice, and he told me colors were signs of madness. I thanked him, two gold pieces poorer, and wandered from the bank. I followed her voice, fading into my amnesia.</p>
1349
1350
1351
1352<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Then you, the mirror, revealed to me my forgotten truth:</p>
1353
1354
1355
1356<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I met my end by the venom of love. I rushed to her side, but she moved no more. I drank deeply of poison, and began my search for her. Now I search, trapped in memory, my endless grays traded for love’s taunting ruby.</p>
1357
1358
1359
1360<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Practice</h2>
1361
1362
1363
1364<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by Scott Burnam</p>
1365
1366
1367
1368<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Cassie’s always one-third done her tea when she reaches for her Taoist to-do book. She opens to today’s reading with a heading numbered forty-six. There are no page numbers. She never remembers if her bookmark, a piece of red construction site danger tape, is for the left page or the right one. Or maybe, and likely, she never turned the last page.</p>
1369
1370
1371
1372<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Uncaring (some review or preview never hurts), she sips, ponders, then puts the danger tape back. She closes the book on her peaceful space to ready for traffic, work, and whatever else she has not yet figured out.</p>
1373
1374
1375
1376<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Short Shrift</h2>
1377
1378
1379
1380<p class="has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph">by F.D. Jackson</p>
1381
1382
1383
1384<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The sheriff, needing chest x-rays, arrives at the county hospital. He doesn’t recognize the radiology tech’s face. Eli’s daughter, Frances, sizes him up, arms folded over her chest. She fits him with the shortest hospital gown she can find.</p>
1385
1386
1387
1388<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Standing in the doorway, chewing on a sucker, Frances watches the sheriff walk down the hallway. A sad smile forms at the corners of her mouth.</p>
1389
1390
1391
1392<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Despite his best efforts, the sheriff’s privates dangle out from under his gown. A small indignity compared to the one that he visited upon Frances’ father&#8211;the night Eli died in his jail cell.</p>
1393
1394							
1395						</div><!-- .entry-summary -->
1396
1397						<div class="entry-meta">
1398							Posted in: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/category/editions/" rel="category tag">Editions</a>							| Tagged: <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/brandy-reinke/" rel="tag">Brandy Reinke</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/f-d-jackson/" rel="tag">F.D. Jackson</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/joseph-howse/" rel="tag">Joseph Howse</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/roman-albertson/" rel="tag">Roman Albertson</a>, <a href="https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/tag/scott-burnam/" rel="tag">Scott Burnam</a>						</div>
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