The Summer King fell in love with the Winter Queen before they even met. He dwelt in the heart of summer in bursts of fruit and green, a place the denizens of winter did not and could not even consider approaching. But even in summer, tales were told of her stark beauty, of her penchant […]
Night. A night like any other in Starhollow: the headlights of cars, small and lost between the skyscrapers; the smell of hydromel and wine wafting from those few bars still open; and above me, the distant light of the stars, a constant reminder of the inaccessibility of Heaven. I climbed the stairs to my flat, […]
Sillage de la Reine: A bright top note of orange blossom, intertwined heart notes of rose and jasmine, and a trio of warm base notes of sandalwood, iris, and cedar. Laughter in the gardens of Versailles. “Astound me, Monsieur Fargeon,” the queen says. She laughs, showing all of her pretty teeth. She is not wearing […]
We stop at the gas station in the desert, the last one for a hundred miles. Kaia grabs a Coke from the refrigerator case, twists the cap, drinks half of it right there with the door still open, the artificial chill rolling over her sweaty skin. I stand in the snack aisle and watch her. […]
You have always been at this birthday party. You will always be at this birthday party. Much like parenthood, the birthday party extends to fill every corner of your waking thoughts. There is a nine-year-old boy chugging root beer straight from the bottle and a six-year-old girl coloring in a heart for Shrinky Dinks. Your […]
as composed by Ashkernas amid the ruins of New Haven
I slam the car door with more force than I mean to. It’s childish, but I don’t care; I want Ashkernas to see how angry I am. But my sister pretends not to notice. “Don’t worry about the supplies, Herkinal!” Ash calls with the false cheer she adopts when I am upset. “I’ll get Haba […]
Thig crìoch air an t-saoghal ach mairidh gaol is ceòl. Come the end of the world, love and music will endure. She sits by the water’s edge, listening for a song to prove that point. She came out here to the edge of Loch Fada to see…something. All she sees is water and hills. […]
We chased the sirens for the seaspray, for the slick tang of salt on our tongues when we stood at the prow of the ship. We each christened her a different name, and the carving on the hull twisted and reshaped depending on who took the helm. Anna for young Rose; Hera when Molly gripped […]
She held her breath as the demon struck the match, but nothing stranger than the smell of sulfur rose to meet her; it lit the candles like anyone, left to right, and placed the shammes in the center of the small brass menorah when it was done. They glowed quietly and a little ironically on […]
Episode 1: Burning Doubts Watch Sam burn. Or sort of burn. Well, more like light up, then burn. But only his head. Whatever. Sam’s trying not to focus on the things he can’t control. Like the twenty-four people sitting in front of him, watching him impassively. Or that he’s underdressed for his audition. Or that […]