The Skeptical Alchemist

Do Not Do Any of the AboveIt was the same trick he played every year. He wasn’t the only one. In freshman biology, the teacher gave out a list… More

Neighbors

I used to live in Istanbul on a street called Kazangu. In Turkish the word means “someone who makes cauldrons,” although there was no one around who quite fit… More

Abstract Space

Nina envisions curly-haired Lorna, with her skinny arms covered with freckles spread out in a perfect T, expertly navigating her way in the blinding space in which Uranus and… More

Smith Henderson: Separatists

A pollarded goat drank from a halved oil drum and watched the car slowly pass by and was still watching through its rectangle pupils when Pete looked in the… More

Kapitoil

Jessica left to talk with Rebecca and her friends, and she returned to our circle and asked, “Anyone for weed?” More

Fallout

My mother mapped out scenarios, calculating the reach of the radioactive fallout if the blast hit Kansas City, say, or Washington. She drew ominous red circles in our Rand-McNally… More

Serious Men

Ayyan Mani’s thick black hair was combed sideways and parted by a careless broken line, like the borders the British used to draw between two hostile neighbours. More

Birds in the Mouth

I turned off the TV and looked out the window. Silvia’s car was parked in front of the house, with the emergency lights on. I wondered if there was… More

Paranoia

There was light, and then came darkness. My monitor went out, along with my desk lamp, and the enormous sun-drenched classroom—where an imaginary little man in pullover, tie, and… More