October 2026
9artifacts
In and Out Like Water
Lying on warm sand at dusk, you notice your breath and the waves are keeping the same slow time.
Let Me Rinse You Slow
He lit the candles, scattered the rose petals, and led her to the bathroom to show off the bidet; by setting five she's in love, but not with him.
Burn My Toast
His only turn-on is a scorched slice of rye, and he will explain this to every woman in the dive bar while the band beats each other up on stage.
Rooms the Color of Days
The days of the week turn into soft colors, old memories turn into rooms, and every door is already open.
Sorry I Shot at Your Boyfriend
A hunter comes home to find his wife in love with the ten-point buck he missed last November, and he's the one who says sorry, to her, to the buck, and at their wedding.
Still Taking Calls
The last payphone in a town that paved over its past remembers every breakup, emergency, and confession it carried, and keeps the line open anyway.
Super-Size Vanilla
A skinny guy who fell for a big, gorgeous, pale suburban queen raps about it like he won the lottery, and the box spring didn't make it.
Two Bucks, One Sleepin' Bag
Two gruff hunting buddies book a heart-shaped-hot-tub cabin every season, zip into one sleeping bag "for the heat," and haven't shot a deer in three years.
Won't Bleed for the Quarter
The office is a coliseum and the corner suite has its thumbs down, but this gladiator clocks out with his life intact.