death

Story·Eliana Vitti — A red hen stops laying eggs to prevent them from being stolen, leading to her selection for the farmer's New Year's Eve dinner.

Story·Natasha Dolinsky — A girl attends therapy sessions for her 'imaginary friend' Emma, who turns out to be the sister who died in the car crash that killed their parents.

Personal Narrative·Amber Zhao — A skeptical traveler discovers unexpected beauty on Australia's Sunshine Coast, finding solace in wild seas, storm-lit skies, and a memorial grove that transforms her perspective.

Story·Alexandra Steyn — A woman with failing memory navigates her empty house, discovers something terrible on her street, and forgets both the horror and that her husband is dead.

Poetry·Oola Breen-Ryan — A morning walk reveals birds like phoenixes and dahlias like fireballs, ending with the burial of a bumblebee and hope for its resurrection.

Story·Eleazar Reiner — A girl watches a mysterious violin player who controls the seasons, inherits her legacy when she dies, and years later discovers her own way to keep the music alive through...

Story·Nate Varga — A lost British soldier stumbles upon a Bedouin camp in the Arabian desert and is led to witness the rare blooming of the Queen of the Night flower, triggering memories...

Story·Deeksha Rajesh — A soldier on a battlefield, carrying photos from fallen comrades, hesitates to shoot an enemy and is killed, choosing to let another's future persist over his own.

Story·Ava Shorten — A river blocked from the sea becomes a puddle who befriends an aging frog that shares stories of the ocean and ultimately carries the puddle to its destination.

Poetry·Steven Cavros — An abstract meditation on the invisible and forgotten, those who lived and died without being seen or remembered by the living.