It's extremely hard to only pick a couple of pieces of short fiction out of Small Wonders Issue 1, but I'm going to limit myself to my three most most favorites:

• CoverLetter_Version5 by Courtney Floyd

My advisor says it's perfectly normal--mage candidates pouring too much of themselves into job applications their first time on the market can lead to all kinds of grief.

"You're manifesting your own potential futures," she assured me when this all started, "They'll fade with time."

For me, applying for a jobs always feels like stretching yourself into the dream of some potential unrealized future you; this short story manifests that idea by having these future yous be literal.

• Sunnyside Daycare Employees' Chat Log, Post Alien Takeover by Amanda Helms

I don't have to listen to you tell me I should be happy for losing my job just because some other alien colonizer didn't eat me.

Continuing the through line from the previous issue of awkward alien invasions, this is a comedic short story about bad alien management who didn't know what they were getting into.

• Not Set in Stone by Gerri Leen

How long can you love me in this isolation?

This is a poem about a gorgon trying to cure themselves with the help of a dear friend; this line in particular hit me right in both the covid and the chronic health feelings.