by Joel Carillet
I was thinking about paradise, a word so often flippantly tossed around in churches and mosques, at Club Med resorts and on Norwegian cruise liners. The word could be powerful, but we’ve made it soft.
It was 1:00 a.m., an hour before closing. A bottle of Heineken hung from my left hand [...]

by Jann Huizenga
“Ne ho travato uno!” crows Signor Battaglia. “I found one!” Six pairs of female eyes turn his way. Signor Battaglia, a Sicilian from Central Casting, stands rooted like the ancient carob behind him, his wooden cane planted firmly on a carpet of capers. His left fist hoists a trophy of wild asparagus. He’s [...]

by Eileen M. Cunniffe
If I hadn’t been spooked by a newspaper headline, I wouldn’t have found myself in an ambulance on Achill Island, off the coast of Ireland. Of course I wouldn’t have met Pat either, and that would be my great misfortune. The bold headline, glimpsed over the shoulder of a fellow [...]

by Kristin Barendsen
It looks easy, like driving a car, except that the gas is a flick of the wrist. But when I take a deep breath and turn the key, I understand why tuk-tuks make the big bucks.
“Right hand, fuel!” Pon shouts from the back seat. The engine sputters and roars to life. “Left foot, [...]