Flash fiction selection from the 2007 issue
Just Like Camp Songs
by Francine Witte
Maria likes to hear sweet words of love. Says they make her feel warm and soconnected. Whenever a man tells her she is special, well, that’s just Kumbayaand a campfire.
She has obviously forgotten the scarred marshmallows, their blobby white insides dripping from sticks. Or the showers of sparks coming at her face.
Right now, she is listening to Rico, who promises to leave his wife. He has brought Maria to a secret restaurant where the candles are kept low.
Once I am Rico’s wife, Maria thinks, he will take me to a famous restaurant where crowds of people will see us.
Just then, the waiter brings their dinner, which in this light, is barely visible. Maria bends down to sniff her plate. Rico tells her he can’t see her, but she is so beautiful, she is sending music into the air. The waiter, always one to know where the tips are, asks them if they’d like to sing along.
