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5 min read stories

Discover a collection of stories which are around 5 minutes read time.

3 min read

The Formation of Hurricanes

At the beginning, there were the not-yet-living. Although they were something less than present, and something more than absent, the not-yet-living were...

4 min read

Where I Was From

I live in a college town in western Oregon and lately people here have been talking about their small-town Midwestern upbringing like it was a war they...

5 min read

What Was True Then

* Story contains bad language

I try to imagine a specific reader in time and space. Sometimes I imagine myself. Not the current one, but a recent one: Steven back in 2011. And I write for...

5 min read

What Was True Then

* Story contains bad language

I try to imagine a specific reader in time and space. Sometimes I imagine myself. Not the current one, but a recent one: Steven back in 2011. And I write for...

7 min read

Sinkhole

* Story contains bad language

The realtor showed us the house on West Garland Avenue and insisted it had everything we wanted.“Look,” he said, “there’s a fireplace, granite countertops,...

6 min read

Eleanor’s the World’s Largest Ball of Twine

* Story contains bad language

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, citizens of Grimsville young and old, I write to you today with good news. The wait is over. Your beloved World’s...

4 min read

The Pineapple Problem

* Story contains bad language

The pineapples arrived six or twelve at a time.“A half dozen or a dozen,” Culver said and Jane wondered why she hadn’t thought to group them that way in her...

4 min read

Disintegration Loop 1.1

In seeking to resolve a conflict between two parties one can assume each believes it is acting in good faith just as the hopeful gravel waits for your rough...

3 min read

Small Spade

Did you know sometimes I take little Joel to your graves? I weed. He runs whooping through the stones, over bodies. He scalps Indians, beheads terrorists....

4 min read

So Much To Burn

My neighbor is burning his mail again.

5 min read

The Hygienist

“Do you grind your teeth,” the Hygienist asked, but Callie didn’t answer because the Hygienist was fiddling in her mouth, and because Callie knew the...

4 min read

Gene Therapy for Nice Women in Love with Lunatics

The gene therapy comes later. Gene therapy is never a first resort!First comes ice cream. The nice women meet once a week at a parlor, while their husbands...