by dm armstrong Mia couldn’t sleep on the plane. The call from DOD last week had been cryptic. “You’ll be traveling soon, is that right?” “Giving a lecture in Lisbon,” she’d said. “It’s been on the books for months.” “If anyone asks, you’re adding a stop to your itinerary.” “Where?” “Japan.” “Japan isn’t exactly tacking…
Read more
by Edogawa Ranpo, translated by Yeu-Ann Huang, illustrated by Emerson Barrett Image Content Warning: Blood Music played by Sofi Sanders The patient slowly woke up from the anesthesia and saw my face. Thick and heavy bandages were wrapped around his right hand, but he had no inkling that it had been severed from the wrist down. He was a…
Read more
by Masahiko Inoue, translated by Rebecca Seippel Editor’s Note: Hover over footnotes such as this one [ref]This is an example footnote.[/ref] to view their text. But First, a Toast is a translation of a Japanese horror/sci-fi short story by Masahiko Inoue. The story is based on when Inoue first traveled to America in 1995 in order to attend…
Read more
by James C. Opperman The wind blows in from the north, carrying with it the promise of snow. It creeps into the building no matter how often Natsuko fills the crevices in the hut she and Miyuki built all those years ago, when they moved together to the base of the mountains. Natsuko stands at the window and watches…
Read more
by Eugie Foster I did not dwell overmuch upon destiny, living among the priests in Oda, sweeping the steps of the jinja shrine, and meditating at the seashore. Until the morning the Heikegani crab with the face of a samurai etched in its sepia armor came ashore and spoke to me. As was my habit in those summer days, I had risen…
Read more