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Category: 2023
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Food for the People
a short story by Jiri Kajane
Fiction Attic Press is pleased to present the first new Jiri Kajane story in a quarter century, “Food for the People.” If you enjoy this story, you may also enjoy Winter in Tirana: The Stories of Jiri Kajane (Volume 1), and Some Pleasant Daydream: The Stories of Jiri Kajane (Volume 2), both published by Fiction Attic Press.
It’s early March, snow still on the ground, wind coming through the broken windows of the empty, disused ball bearing factory. Leni and I are sitting on crates, waiting, and the metal door dividing us from the loading docks rattles each time the wind sweeps through. We’ve been here long enough that I have noticed a rhythm to it.
“New beginnings,” Leni says.
“Indeed.”
“Sevasti guaranteed that he will have the first truck here by two o’clock.”
I check my watch; it’s 2:15.
Leni has purchased something called the New Hanjin Automat. An antique dealer in Tokyo, or maybe Sri Lanka, sold it to him in late August, and since then they have been working together to get the unwieldy shipment to Tirana. Finally, after some delays in Malta due to an underpaid crew and an unpaid fuel bill, the automat arrived at the port in Durres late last night. We’ve been waiting for Sevasti and his crew to transport it the last twenty-three miles.
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The Heart
a short story by C. Wrenn Ball
They gathered in the center of the cabin, away from the world, the four of them talking about their family’s heart. She would drive her son South on 321 to Charlotte, early on a Saturday morning. By the time they reached the highway, her husband and daughter would have offered excuses around town. A trip across the country. Some time together, before her son’s wedding. They’d return like nothing had changed, if they were lucky.
The discussion had been short and to the point, her husband and daughter had not argued, despite the danger, the illegality. Her husband was too old to receive the organ, her daughter too young and was, of course, without a lover. The organ was naturally tender, already pressed to its limit, so they were resolved to tradition. Her daughter had not betrayed jealousy, and over the course of the night, her son had not uttered a word.
She had a doctor’s number, passed between pages in a book that was three generations old. Stored in a bedside drawer, a key to her cardiovascular system. She’d been staring at the faded ink for months. Borrowed time, borrowed, borrow. Then freely given, while fear reigned in her body.
Before they cut open her chest cavity, she had to know that her son would not waste the heart. She cornered him on the couch, the night before their drive down the mountain. They sat together, discussing the secrets of the universe and their family’s illicit organ, while she searched his eyes for doubt.
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The Inevitable Door – flash fiction by Zachary Arama
The door was found just off the coast of Montenegro.
As the world advanced through the 21st century, temperatures became warmer and weather crises more violent. The apex was a maelstrom in the Adriatic Sea. It appeared suddenly and with unprecedented ferocity; more than 400 fishing boats were sucked into its vortex. The oceans had been slowly subsiding for decades since the ice caps melted, and the maelstrom furthered their decline, revealing the large door cut deep into the granite.
The door was nine feet tall, and inscribed on slabs surrounding it were these words in different languages (many of them indecipherable):
‘If you can access this door, then you have doomed the planet beyond reparation. You may send one person through, and they will carry on your legacy. Everyone else will perish by your own folly.’
The world went into a collective panic.
At first, governments worked together to attempt opening the door. However, no tools, machinery, or explosives could open it. No scans, x-rays, or radars could penetrate the stone.
Those with the most talent began to stake their claim to be the person to go through the door- elite athletes shared videos of incredible feats of strength. Intellectuals put forward their claims, releasing lectures about the importance of intelligence over physicality, explaining that whatever was on the other side of the door should be met not with brawn, but with brains.
Each country rallied around a representative, some via election and some by force. Nobody could agree, as each country felt their representative was best and should be the one to enter the door.
Eventually, all governments agreed on a lottery, with every person in the world being eligible.
The winner was Olaf Hendrickson, a Norwegian drunk held at Halden Prison for public intoxication. He was quickly released, and after a parade was held (where Olaf had to be propped up by pillows in his stupor), he was taken to the Montenegrin coast.
Thousands of cameras recorded as Olaf walked up to the door, unsure if anything would even happen; no instruction had been given other than what was carved on the slabs. Suddenly, the ancient hinges creaked as the massive door began to swing outward. Once open, inside was only darkness. Olaf cautiously stepped forward, and a voice came from the open door:
“The door has been here since before any of our histories. The only thing we know is that the world goes through cycles. Humanity inevitably takes root on earth, expanding at an alarming rate, destroying everything with precision. When the oceans get too low, the door is revealed. Everyone on earth will die. Except you. You will remain as the representative of earth cycle number 34,876,546. Welcome.”
Olaf shuffled through the door, and it swung closed behind him. Humanity was left collectively stunned, and after a few environmental bills failed to reach a consensus in the world congress, everything continued as usual.
Zachary Arama hails from London, England, but currently resides in the Pacific Northwest, where he is working on his first novel.
cover photo by Oleg Gratilo on Unsplash
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Center of Center
a serial novella-in-flash by Chris Wiewiora
We’re happy to announce the publication of CENTER OF CENTER, a serialized novella-in-flash by Chris Wiewiora. We are serializing the novella on our Substack site. New chapters will be released on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays throughout February and March.
About the Novella
After a shooting at his Polis university, sincere public speaking teacher Josef Wi?czynska becomes a jaded bus driver. Josef still feels responsible for his Divided student Jonathan “J.J.” Jones’s death-by-patroller and he also feels purposeless following his mother’s recent natural death. On each of his eight color-coded routes around futuristic Center city in a country called United, Josef speculates about the surviving tech-obsessed students he left behind. Between pick-ups and drop-offs, Josef tries to escape his guilt by turning to comforting familial memories. Josef couldn’t rescue his student, but he needs to forgive himself.
About the Author
After Chris Wiewiora earned his MFA in Creative Writing and Environment from Iowa State University, where he taught public speaking, he worked a variety of odd jobs including driving a bus. His writing has recently been anthologized in Back to the Lake, Two Countries: U.S. Daughters and Sons of Immigrant Parents, and What Doesn’t Kill You. His travelogue memoir, The Distance Is More Than an Ocean, about growing up and going back to Warsaw, Poland was published by Finishing Line Press. Read more at www.chriswiewiora.com
