As the days grow shorter and the world turn in on itself, our picks this cycle are all ones that invited us to sit with them by the fire for a few hours. They ranged in tone and length, some were ethereal and moody, others more grounded, but all of them gave us the nourishment we were looking for in this anemic season.

The Long Walk North, by Caitlyn Kinsella a haunting tale of a stolen child and the strange life she winds up living, on a boat, trafficking in stolen greyhounds. In very few words, Kinsella creates an other-worldly sensation of both loss and safety, reminding us that we are all passengers trying desperately to chart our own course forward

What I Can’t See, by Melanie Maggard. Reading What I Can’t See puts you through a fun house mirror. Is this a deeply funny story about a mother discovering who she is beyond her family, or an absolute tragedy about her family being unable to comprehend her outside of themselves?

Trailing Light, by Lisa Alexander Baron is a very short piece told from an unusual perspective—that of a paired horse, experiencing the sensual reality of the world on a morning trot, Trailing Light is an example of how a moment can be something a writer truly lives in. Its precision of image and language builds an entire scene in just a few lines.

Daughter Fish, by Adrianna Sanchez-Lopez is a story of parental love and loss, told through a surreal experience where the reader is constantly destabilized. Is the Daughter Fish the dream or is it the Human Girl with calloused feet? With each sentence the reader must reassess what they think they know about the daughter fish and her mother.

We Must Come Out, by Cynthia Ajuzie is bizarre and funny and beautiful and unsettling, as a nanny finds her body coming apart at a most inconvenient time. What caregiver hasn’t watched a child pop the arm off the body of doll and thought, oh, that’s how they treat me too.

Carolyn Abram
Guest Flash Fiction Editor
The Citron Review