Gloria, What To Do With My Purse

I was setting in the front lobby of my wife’s beauty salon. The Turnabout Gurl Salon recently changed hands, now a prestigious salon that oozes femininity. A typical late Friday afternoon occurrence with me, now something I look forward to since they have changed hands.

NEIL
There was no sign of Anth at breakfast, just the kitchen staff to serve me, and it appeared that I had either missed all the other guests or there were none. Apple juice. Tea. More tea. Cereal. Tea. Then the fry-up, which got easier to eat with each mouthful. Then…

One of the kitchen girls brought me more tissues as I sat looking at the crumpets I had just toasted.

“It’s okay, Neil. Nobody else here, aye? Anth telt us what you’re up for, today, like, so no shame. We all remember her, and we all saw the news. For what it’s worth… no point to cards or flowers, we thought, but will you take a hug for her? For Maddy?”

Split Victory

© 2026 Zoë Taylor

“I’ve got this, Barbie,” Liberty said, squeezing her shoulder again, her arm around Tiffani now in a moment of solidarity.

As you can see this is a part 4. Normally that means that there is a part 1 and a part 2 as well as a part 3. Oh why bother. If you haven’t caught on by now a few words of good advice will not help. Either go back as far as you need or suit yourself. In that case I can’t be held responsible for confusion, separation from reality or anything like that. You have only yourself to blame.

I meet Seo-yeon at the department store Saturday morning because she says it's the most efficient for the basics, and efficiency is the frame we're both using to make this manageable.

The bras are first. She takes me to the section and stands back while a fitter does the measurement — I submit to this like I've submitted to the blood draw and the stall check and everything else today, as a procedure.

When a subject or subjects are charged with crimes in most of the world, the process of investigation does not stop. Efforts are made to make sure that the case is as ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’ as possible.

Sent By Sophia

Chapter 10: Legal and Financial Strategies

A Transgender Coming of Age Adventure

A Story from THE ONE

Ariel Montine Strickland

*

Charity Auction
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

It was a charity event. I was wholly committed to raising money for research into the treatment of myeloma, a disease that killed my dear mother.

I suppose that myeloma is not a disease that people think demands immediate attention. Some people live with it, and some, like my mother, die – there is no known cure.

Chapter Two – To The Victor Go The Spoils

In 1957 Ashely Bellamy is held captive in her cabin deep in the woods. Both she and her captor have to face the consequences of their past whilst looking to the future after they discover a connection that helps them understand each other.

Early dismissal came as planned.

Natalie, Maddie, and Riley collected Samuel from the classroom and folded him back into their group with practiced ease. They left St. Catherine's among the other girls, surrounded by backpacks, voices, and the ordinary relief of a short school day.

Outside, Maddie's mother was waiting in the car.

Samuel prepared himself to sit quietly and say as little as possible.

"Hi, girls," Maddie's mother called from the front seat. "How was school?"

"Good," the three answered almost together.

The Dead Pixel Society

© 2026 Zoë Taylor

Heather actually beamed in the light of the lantern. “God damn. Maybe you really are one of us. Okay, let’s try a new one. Aria is what I call you, a nickname. Lewis Chambers is your scholar standard. Oh don’t look so surprised,” she laughed. “You think I’d let someone up here without finding out who they are?” She winked. “Anyway, you've got the trouser role, but up here in the shade you don't have to wear a mask. What's your true name?"

Nancy revealed the surprising fact that she remembered her time at home alone the days she wasn’t here the last week, though she didn’t remember any such time before that. Specifically, she remembered starting her period on Monday. Until now, she hadn’t remembered any specific event from any time I wasn’t dreaming about her, though it seemed like she implicitly knew some things that she should have known if she grew up at the same time as and down the street from me, even if her house was at an imaginary address on my street.