From the Archives: Rumpus Original Fiction: Even the Moon
When you finished, several minutes passed before we spoke. You dipped a finger in a pool of candle wax. How could I know this was the only real secret you’d ever kept?
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Join NOW!When you finished, several minutes passed before we spoke. You dipped a finger in a pool of candle wax. How could I know this was the only real secret you’d ever kept?
...moreOut here on the balcony, perched three stories above the ground, we’re in her world.
...more“What’s a six-letter word for ignoring truth,” she might say, without looking up from the puzzle.
...moreThe lasso was a gaping mouth that opened wide enough, we hoped, to swallow the cloud.
...moreThe sounds that she would expect here are entirely absent. There are no cries, no weeping. Just soothing, muffled tones.
...moreWhen I start running, I want you to keep your eyes on it, because you’ll notice something that may seem strange. You will find that no matter where I run, or how long, or how far, you will not see this moon move an inch in the sky.
...moreMy favorite was usually the smallest, the most alive.
...moreThis is a carousel that never slows to a point where you can board gracefully.
...moreWaiting to turn forty-six is like standing in the unrelenting sunshine.
...moreThe important thing to remember when climbing a pole, a rope, a mountain is to not look down.
...more“Poem and I are better at sex than you two,” said the short story accurately. “We get in. We get out. Boom. Done.”
...moreIf this were the end, May needed to see.
...moreThere’s something about stillness that always comes just before the miracles.
...moreI laugh. My laugh, this thing that sounds better on somebody else.
...moreThe words blur, become meaningless. You need them to be meaningless.
...more“I always try to locate stories deep inside myself, physically and emotionally.”
...moreYou are never really at peace with what you haven’t gotten.
...moreJennifer Fliss discusses her debut story collection, THE PREDATORY ANIMAL BALL.
...moreShe gave him a small, relieved laugh. In another world, she replied.
...more“Life is incredibly sad, but it’s also funny, joyful, wonderful, and strange.”
...morehe lives in closets, stalks young kids, & takes them in the middle of the night.
...moreLouise Marburg discusses her new story collection, NO DIVING ALLOWED.
...moreJon Chaiim McConnell discusses his new novella, THRUM.
...moreI took a deep breath. A long one. And I started rocking again.
...moreYou stood and put your hair up. It made you a different man. You got hard and decided you were why.
...moreJocelyn Nicole Johnson discusses her debut story collection, MY MONTICELLO.
...moreBeth Gilstrap discusses her new story collection, DEADHEADING.
...moreMy miraculous children were mine, and mine alone.
...moreWomen, trans, and nonbinary writers share work on rape culture, sexual assault, and domestic violence.
...more“What do we do about the new build?” I ask. “Do we finish it? Sell it? Finish it, then sell it?”
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