Reckon Review

Tag: fiction

  • When You Get Her Pregnant

    Fiction by Kate Arden McMullen When you get her pregnant, the girl, your neighbor Rhoda, something in you feels relieved. Relief’s not the word, but you won’t know the word for how it feels to know how the rest of your life will be. Not because you want it, her, the baby, but because you’re…

  • How I Cured My Depression

    Fiction by Bethany Browning The school nurse suggested I might have clinical depression, so naturally the first thing Momma did was take me to see her psychic [1]. “It’s a demon,” Miss Charlene said, too bluntly for my taste. “It lives in the upper right-hand corner of your bedroom,” She sucked a deep drag on…

  • Amen: The End of Men

    Fiction by Owolusi Lucky I was born during harmattan, when sky in stinginess withheld its blessing, before first rain of the second year kissed earths dust, I was crawling about. They said the rain scared me. A lot scares me back then, like the man that wear shadows, and stayed in the dark, waiting for…

  • Spy Head

    Fiction by M.E. Proctor When we started meeting in the pavilion on top of the dune, Billy was nine years old. Billy’s mom had called the office to tell me he wanted to talk to me. In private, in that place. It struck me as morbid, an unnecessary revisiting of a nightmare. But I’m a…

  • Plain People

    Fiction by James Cato It wasn’t about her looks. She had lovely skin and a sugary smile and nice clothes. In fact, when she hired me to breed shrimp on her aquaponics farm half the boys in the town stopped speaking to me. Nobody knew her origins and myths circulated on where she was sleeping,…

  • A Most Violent Heritage

    Fiction by Matt Starr Growing up, I knew violence by the voice it used to holler. A mangled, deep thing, like the wet howl of a bluetick. That’s how it always started, with people barking and carrying on. It ended in a similar fashion but with more whimpering than anything else. Mama and Deddy learned…

  • His Other Best Friend

    Fiction by George Wood Jack Grimes and Charlie McGinn had finished their Sunday morning breakfasts of biscuits and sausage gravy and were waiting for their checks.  Jack nursed a last cup of coffee and said: “If you got time, I got someone to introduce you to.” “Got nothing but time.” Charlie said, working over his…

  • Jackalope Kings

    Fiction by Libby Cudmore Bad news comes with a human messenger. Your Aunt Mo calls between spreadsheets and Zoom to tell you that your Uncle Pete was found dead in his apartment. No cause yet; could be a heart attack, could be pain pills, could be the guns he started stockpiling in these last few…

  • Back the Blue

    Fiction by Anthony Neil Smith Back the blue? Fuck yeah, I back the blue. You saw the flag waving out front of the house? Black and gray Amer’can flag, blue line running through it. I’ve got two more on my truck. Bumper sticker, too. Oh, and the tattoo. See? I’ll flex it for you. I…

  • Somewhere in the middle of nowhere on the last car of the last train to LA, I fell in love

    FLASH Fiction by Barbara Byar I followed the Hansel and Gretel trail of floor lights to a quiet corner of the slumbering car. Stared out the window at the star soup. Pulled out my notebook. There was no movement from under the blanket of your pea coat, so I jumped when you spoke. What are…