Cuckoo Funeral, Magique, The Odd Job: Three Short Stories

This trio of short stories delves into the mindsets and dilemmas of three very different Americans, each at a crossroads or private crisis. They remind readers that people have opportunity every day to either isolate or engage someone, and that people of every age and background have hidden struggles and confusions, hopes and dreams that matter, and a history and culture that follows them.

In "Cuckoo Funeral", a Korean-American teen knows her mother is the keeper of a secret, but she cannot pry it from her. In "Magique", a man wants his wife to partner with him in his greatest dream - to be a full-time magician - but she thinks magic is a stupid hobby. He gives her one last chance to support him. In "The Odd Job", an old man offers a vagrant woman a job scraping paint off his rundown house, but her own self-protective layers peel off as the man serves her in simple ways.

Christina Hyun first published "The Odd Job" in "Bellowing Ark", and it also took second place in "Mom Writer's Literary Magazine's" short fiction contest. She workshopped both "The Odd Job" and "Magique" at Zoetrope's online writing community to which she is grateful for critique and support.