Sam Wachman

As I sit at the bank of the river Volga, I remember the summer Nikita moved into the apartment next door. The truth is that I no longer remember anything before he arrived in Malinovka. For me, the world came blinking into existence that bright, eternal summer—the summer he taught me the right way to drown.

Helene Achanzar

I’ve always wanted to be full of
meaning.
Like a woman named Marisol

—mar y sol—or a man whose parents
passed
down the name Paniagua—pan y
agua.

Leslie Sainz

I sit in the living room,
in the living room
my mother chokes
on something cold and sharp.
I launch an investigation:
She is wearing a blue cotton shirt.
Her shoulders are showing.
The television is hush.

Hanh Hoang

Every night after I turned off the light, my son would stare at the ceiling for the longest time. I wondered if he was a normal four–year–old. What could be on his mind to cause him to stare into the dark for so long? Sometimes after thirty minutes of silence, he asked shyly if he could hold my hand, if he could be told a story. Yes, I replied, even though I knew he would constantly interrupt me, his eyes glinting with mischief.