The final issue of the year comes when the nights in the Northern Hemisphere are at their longest and coldest. It’s at this time that fiction is needed the most. Against the backdrop of darkness, we gather close and whisper tales to entertain and inspire—and to remind ourselves that dawn will return.

Welcome to issue #135. In these pages are the continuation of Flashlight, Knife and Flowered Crown. Hands of a Toolmaker presents another tale of rage, but this time it is contained and honed into a weapon. In the story The Feline, The Witch and The Universe a witch travels the cosmos in search of her lost cat and finds something she didn't know was missing. To balance the issue we have Slough, a story of the past coming back to haunt. In Kirti, karma serves a sour dish to one man. The stories are knit together with a variety of verse from some of the finest speculative poets publishing today.

Whether you read in print, digital or listen to the audio production, this issue will warm and entertain until spring.

For the many wonderful edited musical clips in this recording please find the links in the download description.

The recording artists were all licensed under creative Commons by attribution license 3.0 or 4.0 they are in order.

"Half Mystery" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

"Ice Flow" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

"Epic Giants " by Rafael Krux (https://www.orchestralis.net/)

"Halloween Theme 1" by Alexander Nakarada (https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com/)

"Dreamsphere 7" by Sascha Ende (https://www.sascha-ende.de)

"Lurking Sloth" by Alexander Nakarada (https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com/)

"Cursed Intro " by Rafael Krux (https://www.orchestralis.net/)

"Fearless First" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

"Cockroaches" by Alexander Nakarada (https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com/)