Flash Frog
Small. Brightly colored. Deadly to the touch.
Category: Uncategorized
Gulls of the Algarve by Matt Barrett
*THE BLUE FROG 3rd PLACE WINNER* At the end, our father existed in two places at once: the first was where he was, in bed with a nurse tending to his whims and my mother bringing him water and my sister and me gathered… Continue Reading “Gulls of the Algarve by Matt Barrett”
Quantum Sight by Claudia Monpere
The physics professor who fucks you tells you that sometimes you are an alkali metal and sometimes you are a noble gas. He calls you Rubidium in the rare moments he is tender. He calls you Neon the rest of the time, but you… Continue Reading “Quantum Sight by Claudia Monpere”
The Conductor by Donna Obeid
After Mom died, Dad started building the train set in the garage. He started with a station and single track, then added two more tracks later that year. He added trees and tunnels. He set up miniature people and Swiss chalet houses. He planned… Continue Reading “The Conductor by Donna Obeid”
Baby Wheels by Elena Zhang
Our babies all grew wheels one day. Axles sprang from the soles of their chubby feet and shot out bony spokes. We saw the safety issues right away, but their rubber tires rolled over our protests, then over our toes. We tried to toss… Continue Reading “Baby Wheels by Elena Zhang”
Abscondence by Sandra Carlson Khalil
Clara and I spent that first afternoon, without Elie, wandering the narrow streets of the Khan al-Khalili market, soaking in the sights and smells of Cairo. I had expected the market to be filled with street vendors, but Clara and I walked almost unnoticed,… Continue Reading “Abscondence by Sandra Carlson Khalil”
Fledge by David Daniel
Our next-door neighbors in Baltimore lost their sixteen-year-old son to fentanyl. In the dead of winter we moved into the bungalow beside them, yet did not meet them ’til the middle of spring. In those intervening months we had heard only hearsay about a… Continue Reading “Fledge by David Daniel”
Funnel Cloud Baby by Andy Lopez
What a perfect baby, Petra’s baby. Perfect dimples, gummy smile all socialized, customer-service cute. Heartbreaker, that one. Like his mother. Sometimes, he controls the weather, Petra tells me. The morning, a summer day he seared bone-white, we suck in lukewarm iced teas after iced… Continue Reading “Funnel Cloud Baby by Andy Lopez”
The 2020 Prom, Held at the 2025 Class Reunion by Celia Knapp
No amount of strobe lighting or pineapple White Claw could make Brendan Dixon look like anything other than the face of death. He is still the color of cornstarch, still proportioned like Gumby, still chronically dehydrated so his spit hangs in pillars between his… Continue Reading “The 2020 Prom, Held at the 2025 Class Reunion by Celia Knapp”
Silver by Gary Moshimer
Father has a new red girlfriend. Red hair, red face, red man hands. A bog creature. My mother had been all white, untouched. This girlfriend, Marta, is trying to break into my room with a knife. I’m in a corner admiring my rock collection… Continue Reading “Silver by Gary Moshimer”
In the Slipstream by Sarah Lynn Hurd
We filled our arms with cool bottles of syrupy soda, strawberry licorice, peanut butter crackers, crinkle-cut potato chips—as much as we could carry. Throwing our heads back under the fluorescent lighting, we knocked into each other with our hips, told each other to fuck… Continue Reading “In the Slipstream by Sarah Lynn Hurd”