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Keith Lesmeister

Imaginary Enemies

Keith Lesmeister
Imaginary Enemies

Elbow and I ducked out of our nephew’s birthday party and drove to Walmart to check on ammo prices. I didn’t care about ammo prices. I was along for the ride. Elbow was married to my sister and just out of the Marine Corps. His hair was still high and tight, and he strutted around with a purposeful intensity that I had a difficult time keeping up with. He stood at the ammo display—closed and fortified with a brass lock. He peered at the inventory. “Figures,” he said. “They’re out of .22 and 9 … [Read more...] about Imaginary Enemies

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CURRENT ISSUE

American Short Fiction Issue 82

Featuring

New stories by Lydi Conklin, Annie Liontas, Kyle McCarthy, Carrie R. Moore, KJ Nakazawa-Kern, and Colleen Rosenfeld.

MFA for All Spring 2026: New classes from Jonathan Lethem and Katie Kitamura. Register now!

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