by Lori Cramer

Wide awake well into the night, the two tweens, side by side in glittery purple sleeping bags, giggle and gab about the careers they’ll pursue (choreography for one, cosmetology for the other), the guys they’ll date (rock stars and baseball players), and—most important—the friendship that will last forever.

* * *

LORI CRAMER’s prose has appeared in Fictive Dream, Flash Boulevard, Splonk, and elsewhere. Her work has been longlisted for the Wigleaf Top 50 and nominated for Best Microfiction and Best of the Net.
Website: https://loricramerfiction.wordpress.com.
X: @LCramer29. Bluesky: @loricramerwriter.bsky.social.

by Alyson Hagedorn

Dancing feet have no room for tears.
They stomp without fear
or weakness.
They are brave and they are flexible.
They are free and they feel everything.

Dancing arms have no room for headaches.
They are graceful and spasmodic
and fluid and functioning.

Dancing hips have no room for jealousy. 
They sway with the rhythm 
and against it— 
this way and that
inviting you to be present.

Dancing feet 
and arms 
and hips 
lead to dancing spirits
and I rather like that possibility.

* * *

ALYSON HAGEDORN is a High School English teacher living in Dutchess County, New York with her husband and two sons. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from SUNY Brockport and later received a Master of Arts in Teaching English from Stony Brook University.