My Stranger & Other Short Stories
from My Bloody Valentine: a PUNK NOIR Magazine series
It’s Wednesday. That dreaded time of the week. Hump day. But here’s two great stories by two of my favorite writers. I do believe Russell Thayer has never written a bad word. A truly talented gent. Although Offer is primarily a SF writer he is turning into a helluva crime writer.
Cheers always,
– Stephen J. Golds, editor-in-chief
My Stranger by Russell Thayer
I take a seat in the library. At the front of the balcony. You’re always below, bent over your books. A good student. The best.
You’ve gotten into my heart and brain this semester. I’ve written a poem. About how I’d like to kiss you in every corner of your body. Under the hair at your neck. Between your legs. Everywhere.
You get up to visit the bathroom. I carry the poem downstairs and place it on your textbook. Chemistry.
Back at my perch I await your blush.
We’ll never touch. Never kiss.
But I hope you won’t forget me.
Bio
Russell Thayer’s work has appeared in Brushfire,Tough, Roi Fainéant Press, Guilty Crime Magazine, Mystery Tribune, Close to the Bone, Bristol Noir, Apocalypse Confidential, Cowboy Jamboree Press, Hawaii Pacific Review, Shotgun Honey, A Thin Slice of Anxiety, Rock and a Hard Place Press, Revolution John, Punk Noir, Expat Press, Pulp Modern, The Yard Crime Blog, and Outcast Press. He received his BA in English from the University of Washington, worked for decades at large printing companies, and currently lives in Missoula, Montana. You can find him lurking on Twitter @RussellThayer10
Softly As In A Morning Sunrise by Offer Kuban
Amy heard Dan shush himself. He’d staggered in, drunk.
“Where’ve you been?”
Candles illuminated a dinner gone cold, flowers tilting.
“What? I was with—”
“The boys, again? Really! On Valentine’s Day?”
“Crap, was that…? Aw, I’ll get you a present, ba-by.” He shambled towards her.
“I needed you present, Dan.” Amy growled, charged him, they fell. The coffee table shattered.
Amy’s hand closed around glass. She turned, saw Dan swing the heavy ashtray into her face. Amid stars, she drove the shard into his neck.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, asshole.”
The sky blushing, a weight shed, Amy imagined beautiful things ahead.
Bio
Working in healthcare by day, Offer Kuban should be writing a heck of a lot more whenever else he has time. He grew up in Vancouver, BC but now calls Winnipeg, Manitoba home. Offer loves multiple genres, but his main WIP (a novel) is Science Fiction. He has also dabbled in the shadows of Crime Noir, with words published in Punk Noir Magazine, Bunker Squirrel Magazine, and Shotgun Honey. He is the host and producer of a podcast called “The Speakeasy: Conversations with the Writing Community”, which he’d love for you to check out, and he thanks you in advance for reading and listening.
These stories appear as part of My Bloody Valentine, a PUNK NOIR Magazine series.
PUNK NOIR, the online literary and arts magazine that looks at the world at its most askew, casting a bloodshot eye over the written word, film, music, television and more.
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Ah, Russell is a romantic....
Sharp bang punk noir knows its fucking prose. Love it or leave it, never forget....