The man leaned against the chipped edge of the breakroom table, glancing at the clock. Lunch break was ticking by, and his childhood best friend was late—same old Jake, always running on his own time. They’d been inseparable since kindergarten, classmates through college, two sides of a coin. But life …

His arms encircled her neck, his forehead pressed against hers. Up close, his eyes searched hers, as if pleading to find the same desire mirrored back. I don’t love him, she thought, does he even realize?

He didn’t. His lips found hers, insistent, hungry. She kissed him back, but it …

Ethan nearly dropped his coffee when he saw him.

Across the café, a man sat alone, flipping through a book with the same lazy concentration Ethan had. Same sharp jawline, same unruly dark curls. Even the same nervous habit—tapping his fingers against the table in a steady rhythm.

It was …

The elevator doors slid shut with a soft chime. Lisa exhaled sharply, wiping a tear before it could smudge her mascara. She had just ended things with Jake, and her heart still pounded from the argument. She tapped the button for the lobby, ready to leave it all behind.

Then, …

Ethan folded his arms as the psychic, an older woman draped in violet silk, traced circles over a worn deck of tarot cards. The air smelled of incense and something older—like dust and secrets.

“This is nonsense,” he muttered, but curiosity kept him in his chair.

Madame Celeste only smiled, …

Eliza felt the sun caress her hair, turning the silver strands into gold. She smiled as she hung the silk lanterns on the porch, their soft light reflecting the warmth in Michael's eyes. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. "You look beautiful, my love," he …

Anya felt a pang of loneliness as she watched the couple walk by. They were holding hands, smiling, and laughing, oblivious to the world around them. They looked so happy, so in love.

They were not human.

They were Synths, hyper-realistic humanoid robots that had taken over the role of …

The Betrayal

Tom and Lisa walked home from school, their backpacks heavy with books. Tom had a list of groceries to buy for their mother, who had given him some money in the morning. Lisa, his younger sister, had a different idea.

"Tom, can we buy some ice cream? Please, …

I didn't expect this feeling to hit me like a dodgeball to the gut during Mr. Johnson's epic history lecture on, like, the bubonic plague or something. Jessica, who usually doodles unicorns with butterfly wings in her notebook, was taking actual notes. And for some reason, the way the light …

She found the letter in her mailbox. It was written on a fine paper, with a delicate handwriting. It was addressed to her, but it had no name or stamp. It was a love letter.

She read it with curiosity and wonder. It was full of compliments and confessions. It …

Shanghai’s skyline shimmered with neon lights as the rain slicked the streets below. Inside the sleek, glass-walled training base of NuTech Industries, Model HX-47 stood motionless, waiting for its initialization. Around it, rows of identical humanoid robots blinked to life, their eyes glowing a faint blue as they synchronized with …

When President Everson swore in, they called it The Great Reset.

Lila felt the change before the news anchors could finish their glowing reports. Her bus pass, once free under the old administration, was suddenly invalid. A sleek new kiosk demanded payment. "Credit only," it chirped. Lila sighed and swiped, …

The apartment was quieter than it had ever been. Lila sat in the corner of the living room, her laptop open in front of her, but she couldn’t focus on the Zoom call. Her mind wandered as her 10-year-old son, Tommy, bounced a ball against the wall for the hundredth …

چون عمر به سر رسد چه شیرین و چه تلخ
پیمانه که پر شود چه بغداد و چه بلخ

می نوش که بعد از من و تو ماه بسی
از سلخ به غرّه آید از غرّه به سلخ

When life ends, whether sweet or bitter,
When the cup is full, whether in Baghdad …

The alarm clock rang, but Anna did not want to get up. She had a big presentation at work today, and she was terrified of speaking in front of her boss and colleagues. She had spent the whole night tossing and turning, imagining all the ways she could mess up. …