Isabella Skellenger

Mabel leaned toward the sunlight streaming through the wide window, squinting at the ball in her hand. “G 32,” she called out. Around the plastic card table, a man and a woman bent

Frank didn’t say a word on the drive back from the doctor’s office. From the corner of his eye, he watched Francie stare silently out the window as the houses and

On the last night of my Speedy’s Auto Repair and Oil Change career, the cash drawer came up $100 short. I counted it at least four times, but it wasn’t adding

I hunch forward in the uncomfortable vinyl chair, pull in a deep breath, and hold it. The waiting room around me is a bright, sterile white from floor to ceiling, and it smells

After fifty-seven years of marriage, Frank Farmer simply wasn’t interested in celebrating his birthday without his dear Francine. Since she had died, his whole world had been upended and thrown into disarray,

Panic rising, fear unfurling, voices screaming, Unrelenting— My thoughts besiege me, assault from every side, I cannot escape.   Like the flat of a blade scorched by a blaze And thrust against my skin,

Francie Farmer wanted to spoil her husband, Frank, for Christmas. They’d been married for fifty-four years, and every year Frank had managed to surprise her and give her the best Christmases of

Under a cold and watery sun, When the Midas-touched maple branches Have bronzed and gone to sleep— When people crunch the amber leaves With mouse-like scurries, their eyes downturned, Rushing through the cold—

Alexis Whitlock stepped on the accelerator, tires squealing on the deserted cliffside road. Three hundred feet below the winding asphalt lay the shining waters of the Pacific. Of all the places in the

When the carnival came to North Lakes during the week of fall break, it seemed like a sign. Usually, I would go with my dad or my friends, looking to have some fun,

Mira stepped forward, dry leaves and twigs crunching under her boot on the forest floor. She held her breath to catch every word said by the young man before the scraggly crowd. “Today

Prepared to set the world ablaze, You were a glowing ember, So full of vibrant life until The eleventh of September. I heard the phone at nine a.m. And prayed it wasn’

Today is the day I’ve longed for; today is the day I get my revenge. The thought almost makes me giddy, but I force myself to be calm as I glance over

To read the first two parts of “In the Dark,” check out Volume 2, Issues 5 and 6 in the Inkwell Literary Magazine’s online archive. Four people huddled together, rushing to City

To read the first part of “In the Dark,” check out Volume 2, Issues 5 in the Inkwell Literary Magazine’s online archive.         “We have to do something,” Ellis said for the thousandth

It’s been seven years since the darkness started killing people. Wade had listened to the whispers this morning as he’d trudged along the busy sidewalks. People huddled in groups, talking in

Today is the day. The thought played through Thea’s mind like a mantra as she brushed her teeth and pulled on her sneakers. She raked a comb through her shoulder-length brown hair

Emmett slammed the bookstore’s door behind him just as the grey clouds let loose on the busy New York streets. His pear-green flannel stuck out like a cactus in this wasteland of

He was aware of bright light and heat and something wet on the side of his face. Adam swam in and out of consciousness, battling to wake up. He opened his eyes only

Kieran wiped the sweat off his brow and hefted the crates back on his shoulder. Of all the days for Marta to need the donkey, he thought ruefully, this was not a good