Fiction

Variety and Illusion

Lyndsey Ellis -

Theo found Alex’s house around sunrise and pissed on the porch. He watched steam rise from his splashes on the cobblestone steps, not stopping...

Only Your Own Work

Madhur Anand -

Mother is not the kind to go door-to-door smelling of apple bath gel or primrose cream. She exudes functional odours—antiseptic Dettol, the powdery notes...

Complex 2675: Issue Two

Francine Cunningham -

Mary studied the man in front of her. She had never seen him before. “I’m Mary, I live here.” Mary stood holding her broom in...

Complex 2675: Issue Four

Francine Cunningham -

The stairwell door slammed shut, the noise echoed but didn’t drown out Mary’s voice. “…but then I thought, what kind of secret would Vanessa and...

Wasted State

Lena Valencia -

It’s the night before Thanksgiving and I’m at the Meals-2-Go section in the Western State University Center Café stuffing saran-wrapped turkey sandwiches into my backpack while...

Complex 2675: Issue Three

Francine Cunningham -

Sarah heard the suction of the patio door above her open. She didn’t know the freak that lived above her but she had heard...

Fabric

Elise Burke -

I was finishing some designs for a stockbroker’s boathouse when my friend Nancy called to tell me my ex-husband had had a heart attack....

Palm

Natali Petricic -

There is a knock at the door. I leave the comfort of warm sheets, place feet into thin-soled slippers. When I open the door, a steaming...

Jeannie’s Ghost

Hanna Halperin Goldstein -

When Roger and Ellen Ramsey found their six-month old baby facedown, lifeless in his crib one December morning—his arms and legs splayed like a starfish, his...

I Thought I Saw a Beautiful Boy

Mariah Stovall -

I. I thought I saw a beautiful boy. Today, this afternoon. Before I could be sure, I compared myself to the girl he was with. We...