On "Enough" by Lee Martin (1002 words) ****

This tale is all in the voice. Martin has written some doozies over the years, so it's nice to see a sample of his work available online. In this piece, a couple of identity thieves decide to go straight. But deciding and doing are two different things, and it's hard sometimes to follow through. Read the story here at Freight.

On "Cleaning Up" by Rachel Furey (7227 words) ***

One wonders why our protagonist doesn't find another room while her roommate beds with a boyfriend. One wonders why the roommate would deign to touch someone else's used condom but doesn't want to touch other trash. One wonders why the protagonist likes a professor so desperately that she can't see his complete apathy toward her. Or her roommate's dismissal.

The protagonist is a scholarship student, as is her roommate. These are the smart kids. But sometimes smarts are just grades on paper or scores on tests and have little to do with real life, with living, with *doing* what's smart--which sort of reminds me of some people I went to school with, which sort of reminds me of, well, me. (At least my roommates were kind enough not to bring the women to our apartment when they thought I was around--well, most of my roommates.) Read the story here at Freight Stories.

On "Mercy" by Glen Pourciau (943 words) ****

When I was nineteen, I visited Argentina. While I was there, San Francisco had a huge earthquake. I lived in Los Angeles, but some of the people I was traveling with were from San Fran, and despite the distance, any huge disaster back in one's home state is still news and still cause for concern. I thought often about how awful it would be to be vacationing while something bad happened back home and having no ability to do anything in response. Glad I wasn't from San Fran.

And yet, after reading Pourciau's story, I can't help but wonder if the lucky person is the one who doesn't find out about the troubles back home but instead simply gets to discover them upon returning. Is it better to know and to worry or to be blissfully ignorant. Pourciau's story centers around a nosy neighbor who feels the need to inform vacationers about what's happening in their own home. Creepy? Yes, indeed. Read the story here at Freight Stories.

On "Coyotes" by Ron Burch (2221 words) ****

Something is wrong in this story. A person is missing, and we're going to find out where she's gone. We're going to look. But the more we look, the more we'll wonder why we're looking and what we're looking for. The woman was gone long before then. Who are these other people looking for her? Where is this place we're looking? This story starts with the premise of finding the woman but ends up being a search for its own self. Mystery is rife. Read it here at Freight Stories.