We set off for an opening in the sky and Mom says, Be home in time for dinner. We rise, float, drift through a misty convening of clouds. Squadrons of pelicans, herons, geese soar by; there are no accidents in the sky. Faintly we hear the bellow below, Mom blowing the conch shell, calling us home. We race without competition to our past, promise of baked macaroni and cheese with crouton crumbs, buttered peas, sweet tea; our appetites swarming, bodies lightly baked by the sun, sky in our eyes, pure air in our lungs. Hearts together, we arrive as one.

Guy Biederman

is the author of six books, including Translated from the Original: One-Inch Punch Fiction (Nomadic Press, 2022), Nova Nights (Nomadic Press, 2021), Edible Grace (KYSO Flash Press, 2019), and Soundings & Fathoms (Finishing Line Press).

His stories have appeared in many journals such as Bull, Carve, The Disappointed Housewife, The Ekphrastic Review, Flash Frontier, Flashback Fiction, great weather for Media, KYSO Flash, MacQueen’s Quinterly, Riddled with Arrows, and Exposition Review, where he was twice a Flash 405 winner. His work has recently received a Publisher’s Choice Award and an Editor’s Choice Award, and has been nominated for Best of The Net.

A former peace corps volunteer, gardener, and college creative-writing instructor, Guy lives on a houseboat with his wife and salty cat, and walks the planks daily.

Author’s website: https://www.guybiederman.com/

Author’s blog: This Day Afloat: Reflections of Life on the Water