The Bridge

Fiction by Phil Benton

An audible sigh of relief escapes his lips as the nagging grip loosens its hold. A throbbing yet bearable ache provides a welcome alternative to the vice-like pressure in his head as well as every other part of his body. With each step, his…

Libertine Camp

They were sitting Indian style around a fire built from sticks and brush found around the campsite. While the five girls were passing around a bag of wine, the men

were drinking their own private beers and passing a bottle of cheap whiskey to each other, if only to keep warm…

Meatballs

They ate at a restaurant in the West Village that served only meatballs. She drank a glass of white wine and he drank beer.

“How was the interview?” he asked.

“The position is 70 to 80 hours per week,” she said, looking into her food.

Soccer

The son sets the ball on a flat patch, takes three steps back, eyes the upper left corner, and rushes towards the kick.

The son, five-years-old, sits on the sofa watching the sports channel. It’s nearly noon on…

The Elements Of Melancholy 

A short story 

One Hour Photo: The Psychiatrist Vist 

My husband and I joke on the elevator ride up to the doctor’s office and make fun of the small cramped waiting room, I never mentioned the dreadful lump in my stomach. He normally brings me so much comfort but today I wish he wasn’t there. This visit was just…

Priscilla; Viewing Kenneth Through a Window

Opening her window to see the morning sky, she came to view her neighbor from across the street, a young boy, age nine, in his front yard. His father was grabbing the newspaper that was thrown off course to the far left of their garage. The boy was…

Percy / Maxwell / Joan

A Short Story

The Dance and The Sea

I vaguely remember the ocean’s call that came to me as a child. In my dreams, its whisper tickled my ears. The tide…

My Friend F. Scott Fitzgerald

A good friend is there when you need them most.