On Eldering Clayton H Eccard __________ Recently someone called me an elder, as if I’d crossed the finish line of a race I never agreed to run. “One of our elders,” they said—like a museum piece with a pulse. I’m still discovering what that word asks of me. It’s not…
Read MoreThe Wind Blows heavy Lila-Josey James __________ I look through the transom with two coffees in hand. There’s a pink in the clouds like peaches. We spin out the polished revolving door, and are emptied onto the street. The crosswind hits Marie in the face while brushing past me. Immediately,…
Read MoreOn Death & Dating Morgan Rose-Marie __________ It is fall 2016. The single, sky-blue folder sitting in the top-right corner of my desktop antagonizes me. The white letters of its title spell “Megan”—the name of one of my closest friends. I met her at work—she taught biology in the classroom…
Read MoreLetter from the Editor Vallie Lynn Watson __________ Boudin‘s 2026 Pride issue received our third highest amount of submissions ever, and over three times as many submissions as we received for last year’s Pride issue! Our numbers tell me that our Pride issue is not just important, but needed. Pride…
Read MoreLetter from the Guest Editor Robbie Hess __________ Happy 2026 Pride, y’all! I am so excited for everyone to see this wonderful Pride issue we have curated this year. It has been such an honor for me to read through all the incredible submissions we received. This year, we tripled…
Read MoreHer Treat Antonia Cardinale __________ Through a series of unfortunate events- that if to be written down would take up an entire novel- I manage to find myself shopping for a Catholic school-appropriate dress to wear to my senior prom. The absolute last thing I wanted to do this weekend…
Read MoreAugust Helpling __________ Family Name Glinting with sweat and glitter from the club dance floor,a friend sits across from me at the diner and says,I’m nonbinary, but I don’t think I can call myself trans,it feels like I haven’t earned it. How I delightthen to tell the tale of the…
Read MoreThe Best Man Lio Kammueller __________ The sky outside the windows is still dark when I stumble into the kitchen, and the air smells like rubbing alcohol and weak coffee. The high-pitched voices of Brady’s calm acoustic folk music play out loud, floating over the table where he’s scattered his…
Read MoreMarianne Alanie Lacy __________ Inspired by the painting “Marianne” by Karl Hubbuch My mornings are often dark when they needn’t be. I’ve never been a morning person. I sleep through alarms and grumble through breakfast. But today, today is different. Today, my morning is golden. A rich, orange-toned golden that…
Read MoreThe Rubik’s Cube Eleanor Levine __________ My sister Adelaide got me a Rubik’s Cube for Hanukkah. Every year she and her wife get me whatever is on sale at Aldi. One year it was three bags of coffee that I threw out, though I could have taken them to my…
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