Literary short stories by established and emerging writers James Smart Building Butterflies The man in front of Bob turns to him again and finds the courage to whisper in his ear. "There's been an earthquake in Cuba." Bob shrugs. "Why are you telling me?" "I had to tell somebody,"the man says, searching the front of Bob's shirt for a name tag. Gregory Spatz No Kind of Music So, there was something ancestral, something almost at the gene level in his renewed interest in music, which on the one hand aligned him (and depressingly) with all of his grandfather's failure and abandoned aspirations, and which on the other hand was just plain tranquil. Ella Mei Yon Tuesday In the black of night, the buildings' structures are barely visible, and so windows of all shapes and sizes, alternately filled with light, create a mosaic of awkward patterns. These are the city's stars. Nellie Hermann Meanness Even the crowded streets were beautiful to Ahsan. It didn't happen often, that they were so transformed, but when it did he felt an expanse open in his chest; it was as if suddenly, for a brief moment, he became hollow inside, and it was only when he was empty that he could properly see. Alexi Zentner Finis We're not in love, he said, are we? We could be. Why don't we give it a try? Charles Baxter Interview by Jeremiah Chamberlin People spend much of their lives trying to repress and hide things, and I've come to feel that it's the business of fiction to bring up to visibility those things that families and social groups and individuals habitually hide. Philip Tate Gas My mother doesn't recognize me at first. Then I raise my hand to cover the bald spot at the front of my head. She laughs a good long time. Oh, it's good to be home. Everything is back to normal. Jennifer Tomscha Sure Gravity Then someone, concerned, strong, broke open the door, and this was the beginning of the first day.<