Krumau an der Moldau, 1684 The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and the other begins? Edgar Allan Poe I was seven years old when I saw Jaroslav Černy hanged. I feel the pressure of Master Gottwald’s fingers on my shoulders still. …Continue Reading “The Execution of Heinrich von Schwarzenberg”
Everyone dreamt of becoming the next Great Esthetician. We were kids, the lot of us. We stayed that way as long as we could. It all began the day we emerged from the trees and out onto the field. That was the day we first laid eyes on the Face. It lay in the field…Continue Reading “The Great Esthetician”
I received a letter about your illness, and though you’ve been a beast to me most of your life, became determined to do right by you. I subletted my room, negotiated two months leave from work. I took a train to a bus that lurched and jostled its way down dirt roads, then walked the…Continue Reading “Goatmother”
I once met a girl who would travel the world by use of a balloon. It used to be she would only travel alone, but one day she decided she would take me with her, forcing my heart to float along with hers. We stood there by the water, just us two, and she took…Continue Reading “The Mile-High Mistletoe”
The Argyle Cemetery in the mountain town of Cervantes, California houses a grave whose occupant is not human. I know because I put it there. I didn’t kill it, of course. I merely buried it, after seeing it crash into the woods near my home. The ruckus it caused was something mighty, but all that…Continue Reading “And the Dark Replied”
i. Ours is a small planet, about the size of our god’s fist. Everything is water and sand. If it weren’t for my lighthouse illuminating the oily sea, the entire world would be a dark, solid mass. In such pure blackness, one does not know one is alive. I make up one half of the…Continue Reading “Lighthouse”
The wine arrives in small barrels that bang down the chute. It’s red. They only drink red, so they only sell it, and as employees we have the opportunity to buy it, bottled and heavily discounted, as we leave our shift. I don’t buy it. It tastes like vinegar. Then again, I’m not exactly a…Continue Reading “Too Much Horror”
Down the Purple Cobblestone Thoroughfare, Yhtorod shuffled, aged and frail. By his side, sleek and fastidious, sauntered his cat, Otot. As he trudged, intent upon his destination, Yhtorod acquired three additional companions. Each of them wanted something nearly as intensely as he did. The first, Worceracs, had a massive skull. From the soft flesh at…Continue Reading “The Wizard of Zo”
It was a Wednesday morning when Evelyn first noticed her husband was shrinking. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the morning really, the two woke around their usual time, with Richard’s alarm ringing promptly at seven. They laid side by side together in the same mattress, in the same house they had live…Continue Reading “Shrinking Space”
“Gai… gai?” As he fumbled with the words Robert stretched an arm up from the bed, his hand swirling like he was conducting an orchestra. Jing smiled. “Not bad. But not good either.” She was on her side, admiring the smooth, pale curves of Robert’s chest where it peeked out from under the duvet. “Listen…Continue Reading “Gai Gai (Chicken Machine)”