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SmokeLong Quarterly

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On Mondays, Francesca Takes the Stairs

Story by Cami Park (Read author interview) March 16, 2007

The first flight is effortless; she imagines herself a swan floating on air-light meringue, no, she is a bride, a perfect bride, ascending to her groom, Renaldo, no, not Renaldo, by the second flight it’s someone else, someone who smells more of sweet tobacco than ground hamburger, someone who would never jiggle her ass in passive, mocking reprimand, putting her through this, this third and last flight like the suffering of Our Lord, who had nothing but crosses and thieves waiting for him at the end, finally, the end, she leans on the door, the unbearable, heavy door, like a cold marble slab, leans on it until it gives and she stumbles into cold fluorescence, where she is greeted by clattering office machinery and nearly translucent co-workers, and she stands there, just stands there, so confronted by this clash of grace, she wonders about tomorrow.

About the Author

Cami Park does most of her writing at a desk, some of it in bed, but none of it, ever, at the kitchen table. The results can be seen in past, current, and/or future publications of SmokeLong Quarterly, Forklift, Ohio, Prairiedog 13, No Tell Motel, and Outsider Ink.

This story appeared in Issue Sixteen of SmokeLong Quarterly.
SmokeLong Quarterly Issue Sixteen
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The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest

Deadline November 15th!

The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest (The Mikey) is now an annual competition celebrating and compensating the best micro fiction and nonfiction online.

The grand prize winner of The Mikey is automatically nominated for Best Small Fictions and any other prize we deem appropriate. In addition, we will pay the grand prize winner $1000. Second place: $500. Third place $300. Finalists: $100. All finalists and placers will be published in the December ’25 issue of SmokeLong.

Previously published as well as previously unpublished work will be considered.