Fantasy Magazine, Issue 85 (November 2022) by Adamant Press

Author:Adamant Press [Adamant Press]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Adamant Press
Published: 2022-10-31T16:10:17+00:00

©2022 by Aimee Ogden.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aimee Ogden is an American werewolf in the Netherlands. Her debut novella “Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters” was a 2021 Nebula Award finalist, and her short fiction has appeared in publications such as Lightspeed, Clarkesworld, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. She also co-edits Translunar Travelers Lounge, a magazine of fun and optimistic speculative fiction.

The Space Between Seconds

Kelsey Hutton | 223 words

When rain hurls itself against the diamond glass

with the suicidal passion of a gothic hero, transforming

my window into the white, glycerin eye

of a dark castle, gnarled and hiding among thick trees

When scabby, trickster imps lurk behind my bed posts

and shadows are like water over jutting stones,

smoothing over jagged teeth and gleaming eyes

When in my room, I tilt my head ever so slightly, so

my neck, creamy as any lady’s, catches

the lamplight; showcasing, unaware, the kind of beauty

that drives men off teetering cliffs

When my eyes escape the page and elope

into the distance

My supporting hand slackens and my book,

forgotten, starts to tip, my fingers bowing down

like acquiescent willows in the wind

In the space between seconds I’m lost

atop the highest parapet, armoured only in fresh skin;

at least, until the book smacks the floor

and slaps me awake.

Then my cringing eyes hunt for anyone

who could having been spying on me.

I’m as embarrassed as if I’d been caught

Trying on push-up bras

Cars honk through the rain. My bedspread is blue gingham

from when I was twelve; my skin is patchy and brown.

Nobody cares about my neck.

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