He drove up from the city in July of ‘67, to teach me how to turn words into money, to speak magic to bend people to my will. His red Chevrolet gleamed like Eve’s apple as he eased into the gravel lot at Pearl’s. I sat at a splintery picnic table, heat hazing down in…
Meagan always painted her the same way: nude and spread-eagled on a bed of buttery pink flowers, red feathers sprouting from bare shoulders, cheeks flushed by pollen. The spectre of a sneeze dances in the endless, liminal space between the bridge of her nose and the oval of her lips. She is stunning in her…
Marty is maybe twenty people from the teal void that fills the humming doorframe when he waves to the woman with the clipboard. She is wearing a grey suit and her hair is cut short. She smiles as she comes over.“I don’t think I can do this,” he says. He keeps his voice low, but…
I feel the city. My tarsus heavy, my chitin soft. I am too old for the mission they believe that I am on. For the destruction they believe me capable of. Sensing the helicopters in the distance, feeling the steady vibrations of their blades through the air, my lateral eyes catch movement on either side….
The rain came down, and I ran for my door. The rain served as an excuse. I ran not to escape the taunts. I ran to escape the rain. One is unforgivable weakness. One is understandable reason.As soon as the door shut, I felt secure. I felt protected. The rain outside almost seemed to cover…
Killian stood on the stoop of 1666 Red Street and sighed. He glanced over at Morris, casually smoking one of his god-awful clove cigarettes. “How are you so goddamn calm?” Morris shrugged. “Getting all worked up about it don’t make it easier.” “I hate removal day.” “Everybody hates removal day,” Morris said. “Now, you gonna…
My parents said I didn’t need to be afraid of the monsters in Lake Reema, because the Lady trapped them under ice. “That’s why we hold this festival,” they’d say and stamp the ice, before heading to the feasting table. It never worked. Each time they dragged me out onto the lake ice, I’d…
One year ago, Halloween’s annual resurrection fell on a Saturday, and the dawn sun disappeared like the closing of God’s eye. The sky blackened, leaving a fiery corona, a devil’s crown as the world descended into chaos demonic. Twenty-four hours of otherworldly rapture, repeated every seventh day since. How could I survive this breach of…
The central hub definitely had a gorgeous view. The transparent dome offered a clear view of the Earth below: all the swirling and blending in the clouds, the pigments and textures in the terrain, the gentle blue in the seas. Here, Frieda could simply hang in the air and draw on her tablet with a…
It’s near dusk as I round the corner, heading away from the town’s paved streets. Mom told me not to go, but she knew I’d go anyway. Like mother, like daughter. I make a left turn, then a right. Bright Freesia blossoms line the alley-ways between the houses and cottages, shifting in the gentle breeze,…
