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Change, Mahesh Raman
“On day 18, my appendectomy scar disappears. On day 22, Puddle looks up at me with two wide, trusting, amber-brown eyes. On day 24, she turns into a French Bulldog. I start a journal of these changes. ‘Today there is a tulsi plant in the yard that wasn’t there yesterday,’ I write.”
What Big Brains You Have, Louis Wenslow
“Dissent had been crushed within days. Their microscopic fly-drones were everywhere. Three strikes and you were out! Lucky for me I was still on deck, but the streets were littered with the live free or die, and everyone with a strike or two had NAUGHTY BOY/GIRL tattoos carved into their faces. All it took was the slightest quiver of resistance and the drones would buzz over to brand and cull the herd. On the bright side, you could say whatever the fuck you wanted.”
The House by the Banyan Tree, Ahimaz Rajessh
“The parents (it’s said) / were transformed into / the pillars of the house / the dandelion built.”
Stay a Little While, Nicholas Siegel
“My mug of coffee was starting to cool down, but I sipped at it anyway and waited, watching the fireplace. Eventually, I saw her bare feet, tinted blue, drifting down. It took her a while to land. She had always been dramatic about her entrances. She grasped at the top of the fireplace with her hands, her nails chipped and black, and ducked into the living room. She was dripping, but the carpet stayed dry.”