Excerpt

City of plague:A new Yorker’s pandemic chronicle Pt 24.
The Spring My Daughter Graduated During the Pandemic One afternoon, my younger daughter, Rainbow, came home from school with a question that seemed simple at the time.
By Petera day ago in Fiction
City of plague:A new Yorker’s pandemic chronicle Pt 23.
A small pandemic incident that taught me an unexpected lesson about work, responsibility, and knowing one’s place. One morning during the long months of pandemic lockdown, I received an unexpected phone call from Ms. Lin.
By Peter2 days ago in Fiction
The Twin in the Closet
Ever since the accident, life has been a little strange. Mom barely leaves her room, and Dad barely ever comes home from work. I guess it's normal for everyone to handle their grief in different ways. The problem is, I can't tell them that no one needs to grieve. Six months ago, it was my twin's and my 17th birthday, and we were on our way home from a party, and our car crashed into a tree.
By Brooke Moran2 days ago in Fiction
The Fae King. Top Story - March 2026.
It began with a girl. Black-haired and sweet and gone too soon. It is the way of mortals to die, of course. Most pass within a few decades, unless they can be tempted away to fairyland and persuaded to stay there. Even then, mortals live only as long as they can go without visits to friends or family that allow time and the weight of years to catch up to them.
By Natasja Rose2 days ago in Fiction
Into The Great Beyond
Outside the airlock viewport, nebulous tendrils of incomprehensible colors slithered. Captain Leshford undid his oxygen hose.
By Matthew J. Fromm3 days ago in Fiction
the pumpkin
Dearest Peter, I know a letter saying 'fare thee well' is impersonal as hell and maybe even hurtful. But you have clipped my wings and cramped my style for far too long. Lord knows a letter is easier than a goodbye that would turn into one of your feckin' shout fests.
By John Cox3 days ago in Fiction
City of plague: A New Yorker’s pandemic chronicle Pt 22.
A quiet story about fear, groceries, and how the internet became our lifeline. During the pandemic, Manhattan’s Chinatown felt like a city holding its breath.
By Peter3 days ago in Fiction
City of plague: A New Yorker’s pandemic chronicle Pt 21.
A family story about distance, marriage, and the strange quiet that forced us to speak about what we had long avoided. When the pandemic arrived, it did not knock on the door politely. It barged in.
By Peter3 days ago in Fiction
That Day, I Became Someone Else. AI-Generated.
I didn’t plan to change my life that day. If anything, I was trying to hold it together. It was a gray Thursday in late October—the kind of day when the sky feels low, like it’s pressing down on the city. I remember standing on the train platform, hands in my coat pockets, watching the same crowd I had watched for years.
By Peter4 days ago in Fiction
City of plague:A New Yorker’s pandemic chronicle Pt 20.
A small farewell in New York that left a lasting sadness during the pandemic For nearly three months, COVID-19 swept through New York City like an unstoppable storm.
By Peter4 days ago in Fiction
City of plague:A New Yorker’s pandemic chronicle Pt 19.
In the Chinese lunar calendar, the first day of the fourth month is my birthday. Birthdays are strange things. They mark the beginning of a life, a moment that seems enormously important—yet none of us ever choose it. It simply arrives, quietly deciding the starting point of our existence.
By Peter4 days ago in Fiction
Fear Controlled Me for Years — Until That Day. AI-Generated.
I didn’t know when fear first moved in. It didn’t arrive like a storm. There was no dramatic entrance, no single moment I could point to and say, that’s when it began. It came quietly—like a draft through a window you forgot to close.
By Peter5 days ago in Fiction