The instrument’s first few surreptitious measures played on bits of branch and limb that were cobbled together in a haphazard pile, like a beaver’s dam. But by the fourth measure, its melody became clear, or so the stories said. No living person had ever heard the song. The instrument needed a player, and the player… Read more Elegy of Branches
More than anything else, the afterlife resembles a warehouse. You join a stanchioned queue and wait to be served by the angels staffing the counters. The line moves slowly but steadily. When you’re called up, the angel already has your paperwork in front of him. He scans it, tracing through the information with an opalescent… Read more Your Personalized If-Onlies Are Provided Free of Charge
The two hunters from the village stared at the mountain. ‘Hati the wolf will soon appear at the peak,’ one of them said. The other nodded. ‘He will try to devour the full moon, as he does each month.’ ‘If he succeeds, he’ll extinguish the light that helps us track our prey.’ ‘We must kill… Read more Hati
Once upon a playground, a little girl named Emma twirled alone on a swing outside school. She pushed the toes of her pink Converse in the dirt, as if digging for hidden treasure. Nearby, squealing girls jumped rope and grunting boys chased a soccer ball; yet Emma sat quiet, her solitude palpable. Intentional. The vinyl… Read more On Showing a Unicorn its Magic
Everyone knew the tale of the beautiful princess, Briar Rose. She, along with everyone in the castle, languished in a cursed slumber. Some said that she was fated to sleep a hundred years. Some said she could be awakened with a kiss. But no matter the truth of these claims, a Prince from a neighboring… Read more Awake
Despite wishing to behave professionally, the assistant to the Swiss-Italian scientist entered the tiny examination room, with a grin. The experiment’s subject sat on the examination table, his enormous feet flat on the linoleum floor and his back to a one-way mirror. But for the crêpe paper covering his lap, his nakedness reminded her of… Read more Take Hold of the Hair (Spanish: Tomar el pelo)
It was a clear July day, dewy underfoot where the night had soaked the grass clean of the previous day, a wide open sky overhead. The park was awash with morning sounds—of kookaburras chuckling their young awake and fresh-skinned snakes easing through the undergrowth, a whisper of eucalyptus in the air. I sat in the… Read more Jacklyn and Heidi
Every town has a nutcase. This one calls himself Lady Luck, unperturbed by the townsmen’s mocking laughter, by the disapproving headshakes and hostile glares. Lady Luck resides on the outskirts of Gallanea, near the cursed Apostle Lake. Some claim a monster dwells in the dark depths, others are convinced the water is poisonous, tainted by… Read more Lady Luck
There once was a girl who lived with her parents. She was named Bella, and since she was just a girl, she was often left alone. She spent her days wandering through the house and the garden, but was never able to go beyond the garden wall, despite the yearning she felt for the forest… Read more Gown Garnet Chain
It was the flashing lights that brought Mrs. McGarry to the door, not the noise of the ambulance. She was quite deaf without her hearing aids. She stood on her doorstep, hunched against the cold. In her porch, a rusted wind chime swayed gently and whispered, mimicking all the other neighbours outside their homes. The… Read more Unsettled
