By Margaret Dulaney

~Editors' Prize Winner~

The Wisdom of Communication

“I stood still, planted my feet, and in a voice that I use when I mean business—one that's almost presidential—I proclaimed, ‘I need a miracle for this kitten.’ I was not moved to elaborate.”

By Michael S. McKlusky

The Violin Lesson

“I had said the magic word, violin. From his own past, my father heard its mournful cry. His youngest boy, a clueless, optimistic, C student, stuck in a failing school system . . .”

By Ross McMeekin

Geoduck

“What if geoducks are afraid of something from the deep? . . . What if they are spies, some sort of thoughtful beings sent by some underground lord to report back what was happening above?”

By Corey Mesler

Rock Paste

“In my backyard I was a prince, a scientist-prince. This made up for the more public front yard where I was not quite so welcome, where I was called sissy and little girl and worse.”

By B.B. Smith

If Trees Could Talk

“. . . it was common practice to . . . hold your breath as you hurried past one particular spot that had a grotesque old tree growing on it. Everyone said the tree was haunted.”

By Kate Smith

Singing to a Chipmunk

“He scolded me with high-pitched, terrified chirping, and the brown and white stripes of his dorsal fur stood on end. His frantic little body lurched forward and side to side, but he was hopelessly trapped.”

By Jeff Tannen

The Purpoii Driven Life

“As a child, Mr. Tannen emulated his father to the point that, when attending weekend retreats with his father at the office, he would sit behind a desk and pretend to be miserably fulfilled, content with living like a human mole in a cubicle, typing and collating himself toward acknowledgement. ”