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Issue 44

March 2025


Old Wells

by Thomas Ha

In the mountains behind our home, there were old wells. I would hunt for them in the summers when I was young, maybe too young, to be out there on my own. […]

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First Ascent

by Ruth Joffre

Lita was two months behind on rent when she saw the poster on a jobs board. $5,000,000 Grand Prize! Winner takes all! What caught her attention was not the shiny gold numbers printed in metallic ink but... […]

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The Ballad of Easy Deaths

by Steve Toase

The envelope contains a keyring with two keys, two hundred dollar bills that smelt of petrol and a watch, the glass cracked like a motorway atlas. […]

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The Thing That Ate Itself

by Aliya Whiteley

Dear P Sayling, You have tested positive for Cryptoidus. This disease is caused by an internal parasite that can affect many parts of the body without causing symptoms or implications of illness. […]

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Homicidal Maps

by Joe Koch

The man wasn’t a man but rather a plastic cape in the shape of a man. The cape was unusual. The plastic it was made of had an alligator or crocodile texture, whichever you’d see on expensive shoes, but fake. […]

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The Bathers

by Eugenia Triantafyllou

Have you ever noticed a group of older women having fun, completely indifferent to everyone around them? Have you seen them being unapologetically themselves, doing their thing, despite what people might think? […]

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Many thanks to our patrons and backers for 2025.

Issue 44

March 2025

3LBE 44

Front & Back cover art by Rew X

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