Literary short stories by established and emerging writers. Excerpts: Jonathan Muzzall Killer and Crud Get Married Killer said, "I want to thank you again for accepting my apology without any fuss." Alexandra Chang Tomb Sweeping Day I watched him glide into the sea, first to his ankles, then to his thighs. He stood still in one spot for some time--seconds or minutes, I'm not sure--and then began to sway gently from left to right. Katherine Hubbard Hamlet In those days I was particularly contemptuous of Long Island and New Jersey--bridge and tunnelers, we called them. Taylor Koekkoek Thrill-Ville USA Joanie's hair was so black that right when I met her, I decided that everyone I'd ever thought of as having black hair really had dark brown hair. Colin Fleming Last Light Out That root doesn't run as deep, a root is a root is a root, and you'll take a root in this life when you can get a root. Valerie Trueblood Crisco When they were seniors the hero of the basketball team was her boyfriend, something everybody in the county knew, even grade school kids. Jamel Brinkley Everything the Mouth Eats In spite of this, I had decided that the true purpose of eighth grade, my last year at the school, was to figure out girls. Jad Josey The Whole Sky Fell "I don't see anything," the dark-haired girl whispered. "I see everything," said the other one. Amanda S. Torres Fortuna It was like we were counting down to something without knowing when it would occur, and with no time with which to count down. Madiha Sattar Mulberry Street This is not the way we do it at home. At home we know our neighbors' names, and the names of their children and grandchildren and in-laws, and we don't need to read notices to learn that they have died. Ben Stroud Anselmo The one agreed-upon certainty among the thousands trapped inside Rome's walls was that whatever calamity