I tell my children all the time that they can do hard things. This usually comes with me convincing them to take risks and try something new. This spring my thirteen-year-old was training for a 5k Star Wars-themed race. I wasn’t particularly concerned about how well any of us would do, or if we would finish in a certain amount of time. I was proud of him for trying something new, for taking the risk and committing to the time it has taken us to train and build up to the distance. On the day of the race he acheieved his goal, he ran the entire race without stopping. I couldn’t be prouder. Even when he’s uncomfortable, I want him to take those risks.

It’s the same with writing. Writers take risks and risks are something we celebrate at The Citron Review.

“Most Recent Relapse of a Former Perfectionist” by Karen Lozinski is a baking metaphor for exactly how we mold our children, be them human or even the children we create in our craft. Lozinski masterfully captures not only the stress and hopes of the parent, but also the way those feelings naturally bleed into what we create. The tone carries the worry of every creator: is the creation able to stand on its own, or is it doomed to be merely a reflection of my faults? The imagery and diction are beautifully crafted and deliver a piece that is easily marked for read after read.

“Alice by Kim Sook” by Alice Stephens also begins with a baking metaphor and explores the way outside forces shape who we are. Stephens honest look at adoption and the process of understanding yourself and your beginnings is raw and vulnerable and captivating. Such vulnerability for a narrator always feels like a big risk and it is that vulnerability that makes the piece so accessible.

“Pluck” by Katherine James is our shortest selection in this issue. It is about a prince’s wife left wanting.  James’ work is poetic with a movement that sweeps across only two paragraphs, giving a whirlwind of realistic characters in just a mere moment. While the story feels complete, there is also a wanting to know more, to understand more, to be in this world more, marking James’ work as a story to return to again and again.

Rounding out the flash selections is “The Ghost” by Jessica June Rowe. Wanting is a backdrop for this story of heartbreak. The central character stuffs her face in desperation to forget. Rowe produces at once both a universal experience and a fresh look at a wounded heart and the ways love destroys us. Her imagery makes you want to wipe your own mouth and you feel every greasy detail.

Elizabeth De Arcos
Flash Fiction Editor
The Citron Review