fiction

San Francisco Apocalypse

by cifanic
December 30, 2019January 11, 2022

Today was the best of days, whether Maggie consciously knew it or not. This morning she woke in a sliver patch of sunlight and realized… Read More »San Francisco Apocalypse

Learning To Swim

by cifanic
December 17, 2017June 14, 2019

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

In the dream I had, the lake bubbled like a hot spring. The water was crystal clear, and I could see all the way down to the bottom.

Antiheroes swim. Flesh and blood protagonists from popular 21st century television shows with enormous flaws and the deepest of secrets – Olivia Pope, Don Draper, Emily Thorne – they all swim.

Two, two, three, four. five-six-seven. Six-six-seven. Exhale. One, two, three four. fivesixseveneightnine. Inhale. Breathing, the fundamental concept of ages of which I’ve become so hyper… Read More »Part 3: From Here To There

Part 2: Moving

by cifanic
February 7, 2013June 14, 2019

I began making three piles. Store it, Sell it, Give it away. It was time to figure out how to get to New York. I’ve… Read More »Part 2: Moving

Part 1: From LA to NYC

by cifanic
January 3, 2013February 9, 2021

While working on this story one morning this song came on the radio. It felt appropriate to the particular time and place of the piece.… Read More »Part 1: From LA to NYC

Nicole C. Lehmann-Haupt is an author and published writer whose work has appeared or is forthcoming in Hypertext Magazine, El Portal, Ignatian Literary Magazine, and Mulberry Literary, among others. In 2021 and 2024, Nicole's work was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She has also contributed to Thrive Global, Yahoo!, Indie Shuffle, and LAist. Driven by a passion for storytelling that resonates across ages, her stories feature misfits, underdogs, and weirdos stumbling upon the extraordinary in an ordinary world. She is currently at work on a short story collection.