Literary short stories by established and emerging writers. Excerpts: Amy X. Wang Gravity Jamie is busy thinking of skyscrapers, of standing atop tall, tall ladders and cranes, and what it would be like to lift the beams into place, again and again. Perri Klass Your Unhappiest Child Sometimes it seems to me that we are all of us busy pretending to enjoy ourselves while really, we are worrying about our grown-up children. Les Myers Beth Nine Now Max is staring at me. He wants his bone back. It takes a moment, but you can see the lesson register in the canine brain, a dimly perceived truth about trade-offs, about having your cake and eating it too. Victoria Alejandra Garayalde American Dream The town is so small that even though all the fashion magazines in the seventies were advertising jeans for women, the only jeans in their town's department store were for men. Christian Winn The Lands East of Here "Do you think you're ready?" Jules says, the near-distant whine accruing mass, volume. "I get worried that you're not." Brian Yansky The Curse The elevator stops. The tall man has to duck down to get out. The doors slide shut and I'm alone with the fact that my daughter has put a curse on me. Rachel Heng Fairy Penguins Without Louisa to referee, they let loose at each other without restraint, tearing holes in each other's hearts that could not be easily mended. Kari Lund-Teigen Crow Advice The city overflows with abandoned furniture, books, clothes. People tie shoes together and fling them over power lines. Perfectly good shoes! Jenzo DuQue How to Harbor an Illegal There were times when she seemed ready to collapse, but you were there, remedies in hand, chipotle burritos and foot rubs. It was nice, to carry each other through things. Alexi Zentner You Have My Full Attention "You're not really looking for advice," I said. "Not really, no." Linds