The Secret
By Lela Marie De La Garza
Professor Bauer died before recording the equation that would have completed his work, but his research staff isn't ready to give up just yet.

Far Darrig
By Ed Sullivan
When Eric the Far Darrig tricked his cousin the leprechaun he didn't know the queen would see red . . .
This story is a sequel to the story "Bíonn tú Glas" from March's flash fiction contest.

Riddle of the Pyramid
By Botond Teklesz
To end his dreams the Maya knew he must visit the pyramid.

Gene P21
By David Ulnar-Slew
A daughter is given a miraculous choice about her sick father.

We run a monthly flash fiction contest in the "Fun and Games" folder in Aphelion's forum. In the contest we post a challenge with a specific theme and participants write a flash story based on the challenge guidelines. The contest is a great place to hone your writing skills, meet some fellow writers, receive some feedback, and possibly win a prize. New participants are always welcome. Submissions for the contest are done through the forum. Flash stories from all of our previous contest challenges are archived in the forum as well. Over 500 stories are included in our archive. To start reading some of these great flash stories, check out either Index 1 or Index 2.

The title for April's challenge is "Surviving the Ruined Earth." The contest started in the forum on April 1st. Click HERE to check it out. There is a $35 prize for the winner of this month's challenge provided collectively by two anonymous patrons.

Congratulations to Michele Dutcher, winner of the "Modern Fantasy in Green" challenge. Click HERE to read her winning story, "Spam," and seven other modern fantasy flash stories tinged with green.