The sky left new treasure for Devon last night. She's up at dawn, running past Mum’s slumped form at the kitchen table. Her nose wrinkles; she turns away and calls old Toby to “Follow me, lazybones!” Out the back door, its springs thump right on Toby’s nose. “Oops! Sorry, boy.”She opens it for him, then … Continue reading Junk
It started with a pair of gumboots. My neighbour of ten years, Mrs McNally, planted bright red geraniums in each one, then got Mr McNally to nail them to their front fence. I watched him do it while I was mowing the lawn. They were bright and charming, those gumboots, with their scarlet polka dots. … Continue reading Mrs McNally’s Garden
The Sasquatch watches me from across the flooded forest, from between grim-dark tree trunks and spreading cypress limbs as dark as its fur. Its two eyes are unblinking and as golden as my firelight. A night egret calls. Wind ripples shallow waves over drowned roots. I hold my heart in my hand and offer it … Continue reading Caddo Lake
“What did SETI ever do for us except take?”Her mother’s raw words echo in her mind as Maggie reviews the setup. Sound absorbers hang on dark walls, insulated wiring trails around the den and out the window to receptors on the roof two stories up. She is ready.Too bad Mum’s not here for this, she … Continue reading Perseverance
Content warning: implied child abuse. “Knock, knock!” Madeleine listens at the basement door, her Shell-coloured pigtails dusting its fading, Ceylon wood. She smiles at a reply no-one else would hear, and twists the brass knob, carefully, quietly. Beyond the door, the space below yawns in Oolong Black. She checks her surroundings, but the Guild Grey … Continue reading Sister
EMMA LOUISE GILL 