Sunnyside
THE CLUES ARE SCATTERED throughout Parkdale. On the west wall of the Rhino, a deteriorating mural depicts the first Miss Toronto contest. On the northwest corner of Queen and Macdonell a second mural showcases a beach vista. The large archway of the Bathing Pavilion stands regally over the Sunnyside sands. They are all clues to…
Found in: Issue 4: Summer 2024The Sweater
I ONLY DECIDED TO GO AT THE LAST MINUTE. It had been a busy week and I didn’t much feel like capping it off with small talk, but Ava texted me at lunchtime to ask if I would please go with her, she really needed to get out of the house for an hour. We…
Found in: Issue 4: Summer 2024A Kidney for Francis
THE AMMONIA REEK OF FRANCIS’S BREATH filled the examination room. Jemma forced herself not to pinch her nose, instead gripping onto the sides of her clipboard. Dogs with kidney disease had breath that could make a litterbox smell pleasant. She winced as Dr. Werner forcibly grabbed the schnauzer’s jaw, checking his teeth. “Also want to…
Found in: Issue 4: Summer 2024The Song of Dahut
EVERY NIGHT, BEFORE I FELL ASLEEP, my mother would sing it to me: the song of Dahut, the princess of Ys, the Mari-Morgen. She sang it in a low, gentle voice, so that for many years I didn’t realize it was meant to be a sad song. O from where do my city’s bells now…
Found in: Issue 4: Summer 2024Body of Theseus
“WHAT’S THE VERDICT DOC, is this the end of the line?” Dr. Cicely stood at the door to the patient’s room, taking a moment to gather her thoughts while she looked at him. He was taking the situation better than some patients she’d treated, though she knew how quickly the emotional pendulum swung from jaunty…
Found in: Issue 4: Summer 2024If
IF – A WORD THAT FLOATS effortlessly from the lips and fades along with its forgotten promises and takes with it a myriad of possibilities and a wealth of potentially better memories. It has cast its shadow over every misfortune in my life: if I didn’t take that year off in university or if my…
Found in: Issue 4: Summer 2024The Far Empire of Sanguinity
LISA WINTER COULD ONLY SEE the back of Luc’s head as the repurposed school bus descended the steep valley toward Ahuachapan. The transmission whining through its downshifts was very loud. Over the noise Luc was trying to talk to Concha, the Volunteer Director, and the guys from Habitat for Humanity who were building houses at…
Found in: Issue 4: Summer 2024Girlie Pops
THE FIRST TIME someone’s shoes showed up in the toilet, people in class thought it was an accident, or at the least a one-off. Like there had been a vendetta, some score to settle or some shit like that. It was a targeted crime, they said. And it was in truth. Bianca hadn’t let me…
Found in: Issue 4: Summer 2024Eight of Cups
THE SEVENTH DAY OF THE JULY HEAT WAVE, a Friday, I drove Maggie and Patrick out to Nassau County to spend a month with their father, the narcissistic sociopath, or the sociopathic narcissist (at least according to me, the armchair psychologist). Temperatures had been hovering in the high 90s the entire week, reaching over 100…
Found in: Issue 4: Summer 2024
