Mooncake
Hou Yi, the brave archer, shot down nine of ten sunsÂ
That scorched the great earth with fiery tongues. … Read moreMooncake
Tag: Atrium Magazine
Threading her way to the top
Ziba Ahmadi greets her client with a warm smile. Her black bouncy curls occupy space as she moves through the small salon into a room with two coal-colored leather chairs that look like they would be in a hair salon. But Ahmadi isn’t a hair stylist; she’s an eyebrow threader … Read moreThreading her way to the top
Losing Him Twice
I’m afraid of my dad’s bedroom. The bare, unlit space smells of old urine and disease, holding nothing but a bed stripped of its sheets and a streak of blood staining the wall. A weathered wheelchair sits in the bathroom; on top, a folded cotton shirt and shorts he was supposed to wear the morning he was sent to hospice. I prefer to keep Dad’s bedroom door closed. It allows me to pretend he’s inside
Fists of a Fighter, Heart of an Angel
Angel Keihl hops back and forth, shifting her weight across a padded mat in the mixed martial arts studio where she trains. Behind gloved fists, the 35-year-old hides her face, which has taken a few beatings over the years. Her brown eyes twinkle today, but they’ve been, at times, bulbed and blue and swollen shut. … Read moreFists of a Fighter, Heart of an Angel
The lowbar grind
When Ryan Barlow was a teenager, he would have done anything to skate.
Who cared about politeness when he was asking for a ride to the skate park? Who cared
… Read moreThe lowbar grind