A Canadian Literary Journal
Agnes and True: a Canadian online literary journal dedicated to providing a place for the work of Canadian writers, both established and emerging.
A Canadian Literary Journal
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To Be Loved
by K. S. Nelson
Suli lies curled in the nest of pillows she calls a bed, under the heap of tattered blankets that smell like sour socks and a bit like berries because he’d poured cherry soda on them when she said she didn’t want to drink.
He might still be home. She can’t tell because the door deafens the discord enough that if she lies perfectly still only her spine aches.
Her fingers twitch, tightening around her shawl, hand-painted in a bruising violet and reptilian green. The balm’s sting still lingers, drawing tears like Nani’s fierce embrace.
Remember, my jaan, surrender to the divine. Give fully to be loved.
She’d filched the shawl from his closet days before her birthday, wrapped it in a sheaf of newspaper, and left it on the wobbly dresser, then pretended to be so surprised to find it later.
That was ages […]
Prayer
The year that Pa died, the air was so constantly fixed with dust that even those of us without evil-laden lungs couldn’t draw breath without a filtering rag between our chapped lips and the intolerable wind.
In those days, I still prayed to God. Mama told us how locusts, hunger and drought had been foretold—even happened before, in the bible times. Mama said it always happened when men grew too wicked. I knew loads of […]
Your Favourite Sweater
by Carola Brus
Your favourite sweater is amber.
It is a crew neck with ribbed cuffs. Oversized, hiding your large frame. We think the colour suits you. You have one just like it in navy, which you never wear.
But this one, you wear often. Three days in a row, at times, until it smells like your aftershave. I find it at the bottom of our hamper every week. We like to have it folded at the top of the […]
Sweetheart
That summer he moved into the house where she had raised her children. He brought with him patience, self-knowledge free of ego, minor flaws that come from living too long alone. Strong hands willing to pull weeds. Height to reach the top shelves. A warm laugh. Also, two dogs.
She had not chosen to live with dogs, although she’d grown up with them. Farm dogs—who stayed outside—kept away coyotes and skunks, tangled with porcupines then ran […]
The Club
by Lissa Muir
“Is this okay?” I asked. We were going to meet my husband’s boss and his wife for dinner at their private members club. As luck would have it, my body had undergone a transformation recently, and an old designer silk dress—bought when the expense of children and aging past forty hadn’t yet wreaked havoc—fit.
Tom nodded absently. He didn’t like his boss, had taken the job out of necessity rather than want, and was perhaps even […]
War Story
Light slanted through the bars on the hotel room window, dust swirling in lazy golden rays as they fell across the bed where The Boy dozed, curled up in a nest of blankets. An old computer on the desk in the corner, wedged in next to the hot plate and kettle, played the day’s football match over a stuttering internet connection. Leaning over the bathroom sink, The Woman applied makeup in between the streaks on […]
For Sale: Heritage Home on Lakefront Property
by M.W. Irving
It’s a gravelly ten-minute walk from my parents’ place to the lake, with plenty of weeds, loose rocks, and thorny vines to trip on. A childhood spent walking along that path had resulted in countless scabby knees and hot tears. It’s a particularly awful trek at four o’clock in the morning, sleep-soaked and fretting in the dark. The relief when I spot Dad standing at the water’s edge is almost worth the torment. He’s a […]
Wanderer
The house sits on a hill, far from the dirt road, partially obscured by half-dead appendages of once mighty trees. A wooden structure: large, square, and battered. Cavernous when unlit. Inelegant in its rusticity. I see this image as might a stranger. But my detachment is always disturbed, because what I also see, as I drive my car along the unwieldy dirt road which leads me back to the familiar, is a swarm of spectral, […]
Tame
Only a few weeks ago this bushy cat was a feral barn cat. Claws out, hissing, and quick to hide. A bit of warmth and regular food, and he has become a cat of luxury. He moves into the room like an inch worm. Step, then back arched for a pat. Step, then arch for a scratch. Step arch, step arch, tail curling around door frames, purring and pleasing. How […]
For Solo Voice
by Tina Silver
Even though Gretchen had little potential as a singer, Renata needed the money. Seventy-five dollars bought the same groceries whether it came from a promising talent or a mom taking a forty-five-minute reprieve from carpools and laundry. Renata privately vowed to train Gretchen not to hurt her vocal chords and respect the physiological miracle of singing. For her part, Gretchen took lessons for fun, to check an item off her bucket list. Devoid of […]
Women of Windsor
by Preston Lang
The book was called Men of Moncton. Rita grabbed it on the way out of Owen’s apartment to have something to read on the train. She’d thought it was fiction, but it was a collection of short biographies—each profiling another illustrious son of New Brunswick’s most essential city.
The woman sitting next to her, glanced at the cover. “Are you from Moncton?”
“No, I’m from Windsor,” Rita said before realizing that she should’ve lied. But quickly […]
Donor Fatigue
“Just the blood today, ma’am?”
Marybeth blinked, still distracted by how she’d hung up on her daughter to make this appointment in time. “No, I’ve signed up for the whole regimen, as usual,” she said. “Compassion, patience, tolerance—the works.”
“Oh,” said the nurse—Prashant, according to his nametag—confusion fluttering across his face. “I wasn’t given the extended forms. Wait here, please . . .” He stepped out, leaving Marybeth in the consulting room. She fanned herself with an aftercare brochure […]
The Universal Treat
by Jenny Vester
Even before they chain up that dog in their spectacularly untended back yard, you despise the couple next door. You refer to them as Bitch and Asshole, same as they call each other, and give them the surname Knob so you can lump them together—as in, The Knobs have really done it this time.
The dog arrives on a Friday night while you’re at work. You drive home from another shift of mixing drinks and pouring […]
Bad Luck and Big Ants
In the darkness, Ella swats the side of her head before lifting it from the pillow. “Fucking ants,” she says and fumbles for the switch. Bedside lamplight blinds her, but soon she can see that the dog on the floor beside her is awake—alert and ready to do whatever is needed. Maybe that’s where the ant landed.
His back to her, her husband mutters, “Wha…”
There’s the ant. On the duvet pulled up over her husband’s […]
Intentions
by Beth Goobie
Riley locked her bike to a NO PARKING sign and surveyed the storefront forty feet in from the sidewalk, behind a small parking lot. Four months ago, she had started volunteering at The Good Intentions Emporium, a local thrift store, in the hopes of earning a job reference. At twenty-seven, she was The Emporium’s youngest volunteer, and she had quickly learned that her good intentions were not to manifest in helpful suggestions, no matter how […]
That Woman I Know
by Imola Zsitva
I saw her every morning at eight fifteen on the corner of Avenue de L’Épée and Fairmount. First to emerge from the electric car were the black, high-heeled boots and blue skinny jeans, followed by the green wool coat. It didn’t look warm, but it wrapped around her figure in sheer elegance. Like a movie star who always looks immaculate, even when she pops out for groceries. Her hair was blonde (as you would expect) […]