carnival – Confabulator Cafe

The Things Which Must Be Done… (Flash Fiction)

Jason Arnett - October 26, 2012

Disclaimer: I know I was supposed to write a flash fiction but once I got into the story, it took on a life of its own and grew into a true short story. Presented here is the first part of the two part tale. — Jason Sure clowns are scary – I’ve read that Stephen […]

Carnival of Riddles (Flash Fiction)

R.L. Naquin - October 24, 2012

Benny stood over the disemboweled body, his facial expression unchanged. “Sonofabitch,” he said. He backed up against the flimsy structure of the milk-bottle toss, making the booth shake. “Hey,” Syd yelled from the other side. “Watch it!” Benny peered around the corner at Syd and signaled him to come over. “Problem?” Syd flipped his sign […]

Confronting the Past (Flash Fiction)

Eliza Jaquays - October 23, 2012

Under the wavering beam of my flashlight, strips of red and yellow flapped in the breeze from where something had shredded the abandoned carnival tent. I’d been here before. Every summer, my cousins would come to town and we would all pile into the rusted station wagon and make the two hour drive to the […]

Midway Mark (Flash Fiction)

Larry Jenkins - October 22, 2012

I remember the last time we thought she was dying. We had gathered there in the small, curtained hospital room, a place devoid of both privacy and hope. We’d taken turns kissing her cheeks for good luck, a small mercy suggested by one of the nurses. We’d said goodbye without speaking the words because the […]

Calliope (Flash Fiction)

Jack Campbell, Jr. - October 22, 2012

The calliope sang, and the dark child wept. The steam-powered notes taunted him through the dirt-hazed glass of the attic window, as he stared into the suburban abyss. A spinning Skittles rainbow of twinkling Ferris wheel lights teased him. The dark child retreated to the shadows. The thick hair of his back itched against insulation. Tears fell […]