The
            Fisher Tontine by Bob Church

            

              

                
 
 
                
Truth be known, I honestly
                  didn't think I'd ever be sitting in this chair. Oh, it's not
                  the chair I mind, a rocker is as good a way as man has invented
                  to wile away the hours, not that he hasn't tried to find other
                  high-tech alternatives. Lord knows men in lab coats are paid
                  handsomely to dream up ways of making me comfortable during my
                  'twilight years'. If I'd had this stroke sixty years ago, instead
                  of damn near twenty years into the new millennium, the kids would
                  have stuck me in a nursing home. Today, I'm afforded the luxury
                  of a 'long-term care facility'.
 
              
            

            
 

            
Remission by Trina Allen

            

              

                
 
 
                
"Hey! Hey, Ray!"
                  The man walked on, ignoring her plea for him to stop. Thinking
                  maybe he hadn't heard her, Dr. Angel Carter picked up her pace.
                  Her feet hurt, even in her Nikes, and her heart pounded from
                  the short jog. Yet he was still well ahead of her. It was the
                  second time Angel had thought she'd seen him. But her tired imagination
                  must have been playing tricks on her, because Ray Carter had
                  no reason to be at the hospital.
 
              
            

            
 


            
Anything
            But This by Diane Payne (creative
            non-fiction)

            

              

                
 
 
                
Last week I was selected to
                  serve for jury duty. Unfortunately, this community service has
                  left me feeling disheartened with our legal system and beleaguered
                  with a guilty conscience. I declared the defendant guilty, but
                  my vote was ignored. I could have grabbed the pen, since it was
                  my pen, and checked the guilty box, but that didn't feel right
                  to me either. It's foolish to force a unanimous vote as the ruling
                  decision.
 
              
            

            
 

            
Ugly Dog by Janet Yung

            

              

                
 
 
                
The ugliest dog Gwendolyn
                  Beckerle ever saw was sitting in the middle of her front porch
                  looking up at the doorknob as if it knew exactly where it was
                  -- home. Leaning on the sofa, Gwendolyn peered through the window
                  hoping the mutt wouldn't spot her staring at it. It had to belong
                  to somebody. People in this neighborhood weren't in the habit
                  of abandoning pets.
              
            

            
 

            
 

            
Send your short stories to: ShirleyAllard@wordcatalystmagazine.com.